The Method in Their Madness
by freedwinner28
Summary: Set 18 months after The Variable. With the Trials over and with WICKED gone, the surviving Immunes try to make the best out of the cards that they have been dealt with. But secrets are still kept and the ghosts still exist among them. How long will it take for these secrets to unravel? And how do you deal with ghosts when all you have ever known was how to run away from them?
1. Restart

_**Disclaimer: **_I still don't own TMRS.

* * *

**18 months ago.**

"Wake up. You've got a visitor."

Hans' eyes didn't flutter open until his wife Rita shook him awake. He yawned and stretched on instinct.

"What did you say?" he asked in the middle of a second, bigger yawn.

"Visitor dear. God bless those ears of yours." She shook her head and handed him his glasses. When the spectacles settled in their place the image of a woman came into view. She stood in front of him looking the same way she did the last time he saw her, a lifetime ago it seemed. The white ensemble she had on and the way her hair was pulled up in a perfect bun added to her aura of mysterious elegance. Despite the age showing through the lines on her face, Hans still thought she looked beautiful.

"Well I'll be damned," he sighed, unable to stop the fond smile from spreading across his lips.

"Good afternoon Hans," she greeted him with a voice as clear as crystal. "So good to finally see you again."

"Please, take a seat." He grunted as he struggled to get up from his La-Z Boy and pushed one of the armchairs adjacent to it nearer to the coffee table. After she settled down, he allowed a long pause before he asked her the dreaded question.

"So what brings you here?"

* * *

In the time it took for Rita to brew them coffee, Ava had given him two years' worth of update on the progress happening in WICKED. In a few succinct words she recited the casualties they had obtained and had given him a report on each of the key subjects of the Trials. Thomas was by far the most promising, just as they had predicted. Everything came out as planned and everyone reacted as he had expected them to. The only surprise had been the female subject that they had sent up the first Maze prior to Subject A1. And if that wasn't random enough, the subject had been a non-candidate. She wasn't supposed to be there.

"You lot must have been really desperate to pull that kind of trick," he scoffed before nibbling on a piece of biscuit.

"We were," she admitted, eyeing her coffee with a pensive look. "But I'm glad we did. The data we gathered was _interesting_, to say the least."

"Just be happy that boy doesn't remember a thing about you or he'll sock you on the jaw the first chance he gets."

Ava didn't doubt him. She could only imagine the girl's reaction if the situation had been changed. She'd be going home with a bald spot and a piece of her ear bitten off. She shuddered at the thought.

"Knowing what you know now, if you were given the chance to make up for all the pain you have caused to those children, would you do it?" she asked. Her blue eyes locked on to his tired ones at the last word of the question. Hans took his time answering.

"Honestly," he started, "Most of the time I'd say screw 'em. They weren't the only ones whose lives had been ruined by the darn sun flares. My hands are tied. But..." He took a long sip of his drink. His mind reeled back to the times when they were on the early stages of developing the Swipe. He remembered the faces of all those test subjects who had been rendered insane by its then imperfect mechanism.

"If I feel like it, I think I could do it in a heartbeat."

Ava gave him a genuine smile.

"I know you Aves," he eyed her suspiciously. "You never think about what ifs unless you're thinking of doing something that could get us killed. What is it?"

"Well," she replied, setting her cup on the coffee table before leaning forward towards him. She continued in a low voice, aware that his wife was on the next room. "If my memory serves me well, you did say you'd be more than happy to make up for what I did for you and Rita. I'm giving you the chance to do so now. I hope you agree to do this massive favor I'm asking from you."

Hans downed the last dregs of his coffee and settled his cup on the table as well.

"Let's hear it."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ Hi! So...I'm back earlier than expected. Way too early. But I've had this chapter festering at my notebook, begging to be posted. Okay fine.

Not promising speedy updates though. I know I spoiled you lot with a bunch of chapters per week in the past and believe me I still want to. But during the time I started "The Variable" I had quit my old job and was merely waiting for time to pass before I could hop on a plane to start on my new one. Things are a wee bit different now and I do intend to make some extra money with extra shifts so...maybe a chapter a week or so?

I STILL LOVE REVIEWS GUYS! LOVE YOU!


	2. The High

_**Disclaimer: **_I do not own TMR.

* * *

"Ugh! These boys are impossible! They're driving me crazy!" Alex paced back and forth across the room. Her face was stuck in an eternal frown and her hands never left her hips. She continued with her tirade. "If they're not cutting each other's fingers off, they're pushing each other off the scaffolding. And just now I had to remove a piece of leaf out of Tim's nostril." Green eyes looked up at him. She stopped pacing and waited for his reaction. "His nostril, Minho. How the shuck did it get in his shucking nostril?"

Minho, who remained quiet earlier, burst out laughing. It was rare to see her losing her cool on the other Gladers. So when she did, he made sure her sour mood stayed that way a little longer, if only to rub it in her face and poke fun at her.

"Stop laughing. It's not funny!" she exclaimed despite the beginning of a chuckle bubbling from her throat. "What?"

"Nothing it's just..." he paused, trying to find the right words to describe to her how she looked like. "It's amusing to watch a little shrew pacing back and forth in the room talking at a hundred words per minute. Amusing and very cute."

_'Don't forget cheesy. Really Minho?_' he thought but he couldn't care less. She was there. He could see her. That was all that mattered.

Just as he expected, she charged at him. Her arms were outstretched and her hands were aiming for his armpits. He stuck his own arms on his sides instinctively while deftly blocking a barrage of pokes from her.

"Come here you shuckfaced shuck!" she snapped. "Fight back, pusscake!"

With a quick burst, he lunged towards her. Alex shrieked and sprinted out of the door, her laughter echoing around him in an unusual way. He stopped running and noted to himself that voices never echoed in the Homestead. When she reached the top of the staircase just outside of the sick room, she turned back at him and stuck her tongue out.

"Hey Min? I'm glad I found you. I missed you, you know."

* * *

Almond eyes opened to the indigo hue of midnight. They glanced around the place, taking in their surroundings as their owner tried to remember where he was. Minho sighed heavily as reality slammed back at his chest. It was as if it was holding him down on the thin mattress of his bed. He was in his bedroom in one of the ragged cabins he shared with other Immunes in Paradise, a privilege that he received a few months back. He wasn't used to having a place of his own, having shared a room with at least five other boys for the past three years of the life he remembered. The sudden stillness that privacy brought him made him lonely for some company. Lucky for him he wasn't lonely for too long. In just a couple of days he got what he asked for.

He looked down on his left to see a head full of blonde hair resting on his arm. Further down he saw a long alabaster leg draped on the area just below his bellybutton. Sometime during the night one of them managed to kick the blankets off the bed. And from the way his entire body felt the draft coming through his open window, he could tell he was naked.

Apparently, so was Sonya.

He shifted slightly to his left so he could see her better, gently tucking a lock of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear to get a view of her face. Even with her guard down in sleep, she was still stunning. The pale skin of her face glowed perfectly against the moonlight. So did the rest of her. In the three months that they've been doing what they did in those late hours, Minho could attest to that fact. He pressed his face against the crown of her head and inhaled her scent, hoping her presence could mimic the feeling of him coming home.

It's been three months and he was still looking for that feeling.

He liked Sonya. He really did. She knew exactly what to do to get a reaction out of him. Outside of his bedroom, she was funny, witty and knew how to handle her klunk. Thomas once told him that she and him made a good pair because they were both tough as nails and yet so different in everything else. Frypan simply thought he was a lucky bastard because he got to have sex with a hot girl period. And he wanted to believe them both.

If only he was half as good at lying to himself as he was at lying to others.

He still saw her sometimes. Her ghost was in every green-eyed girl he came across. And as though it never learned, his heart would jump with glee at the sight of each one of them, perhaps tricked into believing that it was the Med-jack with the chicken legs who managed to wrap him around her finger without even trying. This longing got worse as bits and pieces of his life before the Maze began to bleed through the wall that WICKED erected around his mind. Most of those memories had her in it, just her and snippets of a time when they both knew who they were to each other. Those fractured moments came so vividly and so often that he mixed them up with his reality. Without meaning to, he would look at Sonya and wonder how she would look like with black hair or if she would be more beautiful if her skin was olive instead of ivory. In their most intimate moments when he looked down her glazed, hazel green eyes, a different name would settle at the tip of his tongue, the constant reminder of his haunted past. It got so bad that he would bury his face at the crook of her neck before he lost control just so he wouldn't give his secret away. And when the ecstasy would pass and he found himself back to the ground, a crazy amount of guilt would settle at the pit of his stomach. He got better at hiding it over time, which was good. The last thing he wanted was for Sonya to kick him out of his own bed just because he called her "Alex" in the middle of an orgasm.

The blonde beauty stirred and looked up at him groggily. She noticed that the former Runner was already wide awake.

"Nightmare?" It was a one-worded question.

"Nope. Just hungry," he replied._ 'At least the first word was true,'_ he added as an afterthought. "Let's grab something in the kitchen."

Sonya yawned and stretched her arms up. "Give me time to wake up, hon."

"You got five minutes."

This made her giggle for some reason. "Oh good." She swung her weight sideways and sat up straddling him. "I think that's more than enough time."

Minho grinned at her before sitting up to meet her lips with a deep kiss.

Slowly but surely, he felt his memories clouded over by the lust and he relaxed the hold he had on himself once again. He focused on the feeling of her lips against his neck, focused on how his eyes automatically rolled at the back of his skull. He focused on his breathing getting heavier, on her legs wrapping tightly around his bare waist. He focused on these things until he forgot everything else.

If there was one thing the Glade taught him it was that remembering the dead never did him any good. It never brought them back.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_After much giggling, two things came to mind regarding this chapter. 1) You naughty naughty kids. What the shuck are you doing? 2) I have a feeling I should be running for the hills...at least until the idea of MINHO and SEX used in the same chapter cools down a bit.

Reviews are love guys. Cheers.


	3. Baggage

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own anything! Promise!

* * *

Ever since the Flat Trans exploded and the hut that housed it was burned down, around two hundred Immunes were left in the wilderness to fend for themselves. Seeing the shocked state that the majority of people were in, Minho and two others named Jaime and Elliot took it upon themselves to bring order within their group. This jump-started the beginning of a community.

Thomas made it known early on that he was taking a backseat for the moment. "I don't mind doing my part," he said, "but I've had enough of the leading role for the moment."

Minho didn't prod him too much. He thought the trauma of literally nearly losing his brain had shaken him up quite badly among other horrible things . And so he let him be.

The raven-haired boy knew he didn't have much patience with Politics. He had been into enough Gatherings in the Glade to know that. He left most of that klunk to the two other leaders. Instead, he offered them the one thing he knew he excelled at. Within a week, Minho, with the help of a few ex-Gladers and some girls from Group B, were able to navigate the woods surrounding their new home within a fifteen-kilometer radius. Sources of food and water were marked and strategies of acquiring them and bringing them back into Paradise were planned out every night. With the help of his maps, dirt paths leading to these resources were made under the leadership of Gally. Food gathering and rationing was spearheaded by Frypan and another culinary student named Isabel. When the first signs of sickness spread through the wary community, Jaime who was a former medical resident stepped up to help. Clint and Brenda, who had remained silent in the background for weeks offered him a much needed hand and soon the trio built and ran the town clinic, a bigger, cozier version of the Glade's sick room. Buildings were erected. Jobs were delegated. Relationships blossomed. For the first time in years things were finally looking up for the children of WICKED. None of them talked about the past, even those who got their memories back. Everyone wanted to pretend that life for them began that day they watched the hut burn down.

Minho wanted to believe it more than most but he couldn't.

Somehow, as he ran through the Flat Trans he managed to bring with him every single emotional baggage he had been lugging around for years. He had them for so long that he didn't know how to get rid of them anymore. Newt's disappearance made them heavier. The list of people he couldn't save grew long and winding, acting like a noose around his neck which grew tighter with every day he lived through without them.

The war with WICKED may be over. But his battle with his demons had just begun. He handled it the same way he handled everything in the Glade. He ran away from it all. He was smart enough to know he couldn't run forever but he was going to stay away from those things for as long as he possibly could. Like broken bones which didn't settle quite right, he feared he had to be broken to pieces again before he could fix himself.

That day he stepped out of his room with Sonya's scent still lingering on him. Instead of feeling lighter, he found himself dragging his feet to start the day. An awful feeling settled at the pit of his stomach, a feeling which told him that his time to come undone was getting close.

* * *

Throughout the months that they've explored the uncharted territory surrounding Paradise, the navigation team grew smaller and more compact. The less experienced ones settled to guard the premises with Leo, the former Keeper of the Baggers. The only ones left in the group were Minho, Thomas, Sonya, Harriet and Jorge. Being their de facto leader, it was usually Minho who would meet up with Elliot and Jaime to discuss where the group was heading for the day.

"Why do you keep doing it?" Jorge asked, while gearing up for the day's task. "It doesn't look like those douchebags have the balls to come rescue us themselves if we get into trouble."

Minho scoffed at this. He put on his Runner's gear and strapped it across his chest. It was one of the only possessions he had brought with him from the Glade along with a few knives.

"Yeah but at least they will have an idea where we're headed in case we get eaten by something along the way."

"Whatever hermano. Hurry up. We'll meet up you up north." The thirty-year old spun around and made his way to the rest of the group. He raised an eyebrow as he passed by Thomas and the medic Brenda who were caught in a liplock. It was the former who saw him first and slowly pushed away from the giggly girl.

"Please, don't mind me." He laughed.

"I wasn't," Brenda retorted.

* * *

The Council Room was in the First House, a single floor wooden architecture which stood in the center of the village. Gally called the dibs on naming the building so he wasn't surprised with the blatant triteness of its title.

"You got a better idea slinthead?" the sharp-browed Builder asked him the day they decided to put a name on it.

"House of Gally has a nice ring to it," he replied. "On second thought I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time in the place so I think First House will do."

The door to the Council Room stood ajar when he got there. Elliot was on the table frowning over one of his maps. Minho knocked to inform him of his presence.

"Where's Jaime?" he asked.

"Good morning to you too. Come in. He's with Brenda and Clint right now, sorting things out with their supplies."

The younger boy shrugged. He didn't bother telling him that Brenda was currently draped over his good friend Thomas.

"Listen, I have something to tell you." From the cold tone of the curly-haired man's voice, the Runner could tell that what he was about to hear wasn't good. Elliot spun the map around so Minho could have a better look at it. The older man traced an imaginary circle on a spot about ten kilometers North of the village.

"I received intel from the radio that people were spotted hiding within this area."

It wasn't something he expected to hear. He didn't even know that rusty tin can of a radio worked. Aris must have done his job then.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive. It's a message I caught on air, possibly from isolated factions from the former members of the coalition who used to operate outside WICKED. It's the only likely source I could think of."

"What did they say about these people?" Minho's mind was going through the worst case scenarios. If those bastards came with weapons, they will be having a hard time defending their turf. Most of the people here were women and children.

"It's a small group. Not more than ten. Possibly armed." Elliot rubbed his face before continuing. "Possibly Cranks."

Minho rolled his eyes. 'Of course.' A tiny part of him dared hope that a certain Glader with blonde hair was with them should these shucks turn out to be Cranks. He knew he was asking for too much. "Well have you told Leo and the rest of the guards?"

Elliot didn't say anything but the look he gave him was enough of an answer. The short-fused boy felt his face heat up with anger.

"Then what the shuck are you doing there sitting on your ass, man? Move! Jesus..."

* * *

Though none of them could confirm if the people Elliot mentioned were Cranks, the group agreed that they didn't want to take any chances. They went out of the village that day fully equipped with spears, knives and bows, ready to face a skirmish. The guards were told to keep the news to themselves to avoid hysteria. However explicit instructions were given for everyone to stay withing the community's premises.

The guards counted five people who went out of the gates that day. Minho hoped that the numbers stayed the same by sunset.

"It's possible that there's nobody there," Thomas said as he trekked beside him. The rest of the group was a few steps behind them. "I mean it's Elliot who told you right? Maybe this is one those false alarms he seems to be fond of giving us."

"I have a feeling it's not," Harriet replied from behind. "Which is good. I haven't been in a decent fight in forever. I could use one right now."

"Speak for yourself," Thomas mumbled.

"You guys slim it," Minho scolded them. "If they're really here right now then all that chatter had already given our position away."

He was feeling restless and sick to his stomach and he doubted it was because of breakfast. He wanted to run while scouting the place just to get it over with quickly. The problem was that of the five of them only three were Runners and only two of those were still in shape to run for a long distance. They couldn't afford to be separated from each other since they were expecting an ambush any time.

The sudden sound of metal banging against metal made the group come to a sudden halt.

"What was that?" Sonya hissed, raising her spear in front of her at the ready. The others quickly did the same with their weapons. Minho felt the familiar veil of numbness envelop him as his senses worked overtime. The sound of dried leaves and twigs breaking echoed from the cluster of trees a few yards in front of them.

"Jorge. Harriet. Watch the back," Minho commanded in a low voice. He cursed inwardly when he realized that they were the ones who were in the open. The group inched slowly into the woods to locate the source of the sound. He ignored the unsettling way the hair at the back of his neck stood on end. In the back of his mind, he wondered if they were walking into a trap. Those Cranks could hide anywhere up in those trees. Then they'd really be surrounded.

"Up ahead!" Thomas exclaimed. A tall shrub shook violently. All five aimed their weapons towards it. Minho instinctively walked in front of the group with a spear in hand, ready to go on the defense if needed. Seconds later, a small figure stumbled out of it.

The boy couldn't have been older than ten. Matted brown hair was plastered against his forehead, framing an angry flush on his cheeks. He stared wide-eyed at the heavily armed group behind a thick pair of spectacles.

"Hey shank," Minho started, never putting his weapon down. "You alone?"

The boy let out a terrified scream and scurried back into the bushes. The dark-haired boy followed suit, ignoring the warning cries of the others behind him.

"Does that idiot ever think?!" Harriet shrieked.

"Not in the way you want him to," Thomas replied. "Come on!"

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ Sorry if I bored you a bit at the first part. I know I was bored with it. But I had to do it, just to start putting the players in their rightful places. I know there's more to discuss regarding the Paradise setting since not much of it was mentioned in the book so I hope you bear with me.

On a lighter note: 14 REVIEWS IN TWO CHAPTERS! OMG I LOVE YOU GUYS! Good to know you're excited about this project as much as I am. And I am pleasantly surprised that there are quite a number of Minlex shippers out there...very avid shippers I must say. I'm actually a bit nervous considering what I did to her in the previous story. (winkwink) Before I go I'd like to mention the following shanks and shankettes and thank them for their awesome revs: **vikitria, Sheba3, OddPotato, crank628, mistystar123, andreams512, cmarania, amycahill57, amillipede, KiraKiraBluemoon, mylove2011, Aurora Marie Williams, **and a few other guests.

Y'ALL ARE AWESOME YA KNOW! Hope to hear from you soon. LOVE LOTS!


	4. A Rush of Blood to the Head

_**Disclaimer: **_TMRS belongs to J. Dashner

* * *

"Stop right there!" he called after the running boy.

The boy was quicker than he expected, quick enough to make the seasoned Runner put more effort in chasing after him. He turned sharply to the left as if trying to shake him off. Minho followed suit in a heartbeat. His fingertips had clasped the tip of the boy's hoodie when someone slammed against him from his left. The sudden impact made him lose his balance. He grabbed the person by the arm and together, the two of them tumbled down a steep slope. Minho swore loudly as rocks and debris scraped his sides, arms, and face during the fall. Not long after they reached the flat surface below, he quickly got up to his feet to pin his attacker on the ground.

It was another boy who looked his age with dark olive skin and short hair. The stranger glared angrily at him before spitting out a wad of blood to his face. Minho ducked away just in time, pulled the boy by his collar and slammed him back to the ground.

"Who the fuck are you?" he hissed.

The boy wriggled underneath him and managed to free one arm. Minho noticed this and was again able to duck away when it came swinging towards his jaw. Now fuming with anger, he pulled the two of them to their feet. He shoved him against the nearest tree and began to pound at the boy's face with his left fist.

"Who are you?" he asked louder. He never stopped hitting for him to get an answer. Just as the former was about to pass out, Minho lurched forward when he felt another person jump on his back.

"Get off of me!" he screamed. He spun in place in an attempt to free himself. A pair of legs latched at his waist from behind, forcing him to stop.

"What the - AAGH!" he yelled in pain. Whoever was behind him grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head backwards. His yells were cut short when he felt a forearm over his neck tightening in an instant. With his spear out of reach and his trusty knife too far in his boot to be of any use, he knew he was defenseless. He had to think of a way to free himself before the black tunnel at the edge of his vision grew bigger.

He closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall on his back, landing on the ground with a dull thud. The person behind him let out a pained sound, like someone whose breath had been knocked out of him. Minho saw his opportunity. Everytime he swung his elbows back he could feel it hitting his target. Soon, the lock over his neck loosened. He pushed the arm away and quickly turned himself over. With a rabid war cry he pulled the knife from his left boot and aimed for his attacker's neck.

What he saw next made him feel as though he was struck by lightning for the second time in his unfortunate life. His grip on his knife grew slack and his ears rang loudly.

The curtain of black hair framing the delicate facial features told him it was a girl. She glared back even as she gasped for breath under his full weight. She eyed the knife warily for a short moment before glaring back at him, her angry green eyes daring him to finish what he started.

Minho couldn't do it. It was impossible. How could he kill someone who was already dead?

"Alex?" The short name struggled to come out of his dry mouth.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise...widened in recognition. Upon seeing this, a voice in his head yelled in alarm.

'Get off of her you shuckface! It's her! Alex is alive, don't hurt her!'

She didn't even give him a chance to surrender. As soon as the knife fell from his grip, she reached for the collar of his shirt and headbutted him as hard as she could. Minho groaned as white spots danced in front of his vision. He must have blacked out for a few seconds. When he came around, he realized that their positions have changed. He was on the ground on his back. Alex straddled his hips, this time aiming her own sharp knife against his neck.

"Alex it's me! It's me!" he cried. He felt his eyes heating up and his vision blurred as though underwater. He could only stare in shock as she pressed the blade harder against his neck, drawing out blood.

It wasn't how he remembered her. His Alex would never do this to him, or to anybody for that matter.

The one on top of him had murder written across her face. Her emerald orbs gleamed with rage. She was actually baring her teeth at him.

Not one to give up easily, he tried again. "Alex, listen. It's me. It's me dammit...stop this."

"Stop! He's one of them! Alex!" An unfamiliar male voice called out from afar. The stranger wearing Alex's face seemed to recognize the voice and turned to look for its owner.

Her head suddenly snapped on the opposite direction. She cried out in pain before collapsing on the ground beside Minho, unconscious.

He looked up and saw Sonya standing over him, the butt of her spear positioned on the spot where the other girl's head had been.

The blonde quickly sat down beside to him to help him up. He propped himself up with his elbows as he gasped for breath, mouth too dry to speak.

"That bitch cut you," Sonya spat. She took a piece of cloth from her emergency kit and lightly dabbed on the drops of blood forming against the cut on his neck.

The rest of the group made their way towards the couple. With them was an old man in his sixties, trailing behind them at a much slower pace.

"This hombre says they're no Cranks, hermano," Jorge started, poking Alex's leg with the toe of his boot.

"Really? Then who are you?" Thomas asked.

"Get away from her!" The young man Minho throttled earlier shoved Jorge away before kneeling down beside Alex. He cradled the unconscious girl's head on his lap, frowning when his left hand came out bloody. He glared at Sonya who merely gave him a cold look.

"If anything happens to her-"

"She had it coming," she interjected. She looked at Minho and saw the dark-haired boy staring hauntingly at the girl who nearly slit his throat.

"Please," the old man stepped forward. His arms were raised up in surrender. "This had all been a terrible misunderstanding. We're not Cranks. We just came looking for shelter. Denver is gone, you see. I needed to get these kids somewhere safe. It was Hans who told me about Paradise."

Thomas' head whipped to the side to look at him. "You know Hans?"

"Yes." Upon seeing the questioning look on the boy's face, he added, "We go way back."

"And I have a feeling he knows her," the younger man added, nodding at Minho's direction. The Runner was still in shock and his gaze never left the unconscious girl's face.

Sonya raised an eyebrow at his. "But how's that possible?"

"Ask him." Through caked blood and bruises, the young man smirked at him. "What's wrong asshole? You look like you've seen a ghost."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_=) Have a good week everyone.


	5. Dead Girl Walking

_**Disclaimer: **_TMRS ain't mine.

* * *

Eleven-year old Harriet heard her name being called through the speakers.

"Please proceed to Room Nine."

Just as she was instructed, the curly-haired girl entered the second room from the right. Its floor was made of pristine, white tiles. The entire place was bare of furniture save for a small metal table and two chairs facing each other, which was placed in the center of the room. On one of the chairs sat a girl who didn't look much older than her. Her long hair covered her face until she looked up from the notes she was scribbling on.

"Hi," she greeted with a smile. "You must be Harriet."

"One and only," Harriet replied, taking the seat across the table.

"My name is Alexandria. I'm one of the medical trainees." She held out her hand to the younger girl who shook it firmly.

"You look too young to be a medic."

Alex chuckled at this. "Everybody's too young for anything in this place." She prepared the mechanical puzzles needed for the assessment on the cool table. Harriet was already trying to solve them in her head even as they talked.

"Why not go for the Trials?" Harriet asked. Alex shuddered upon hearing this.

"No thanks," she replied. "Besides, I'm not cut out for it." The trainee tapped her left temple with her finger. "Not enough going on up here. But enough about me." She pushed the puzzles towards the Group B subject. Her green eyes sparkled with playful fascination. "Let's see what you got."

* * *

She gasped at the memory.

"I remember her!"

The group of young adults looking over the sleeping girl all turned their heads to face Harriet.

"What?" Gally and Thomas asked at the same time.

"You weren't in the Glade," Frypan pointed out.

"I still can't believe he's a chick," Leo moaned.

"Not in the Glade you sticks." Harriet pushed herself through the group until she was standing in front of Alex's bed. She glanced at the girl's face, taking in her features. "Yup. I've seen her before the Trials. She was one of the medics."

Minho chuckled wryly from across the room. "Makes sense."

He sat on the medicating table as Clint dressed the wounds on his neck and face. Sonya was right beside the Med-jack helping him prepare the bandages.

"I'd be surprised if you didn't know." Harriet gave the former Keeper of the Runners a pointed look. "You guys were inseparable. I thought you were ..." She stopped herself abruptly and waved her hand dismissively, ignoring the look Sonya was giving her. The flaxen-haired girl may look calm most of the time but she knew her well enough not to get on her bad side.

"How could he?" Thomas asked. "Minho and I and..." he paused, "we never got our Swipes reversed."

"But she told me she wasn't going in the Trials so I'm pretty surprised y'all think you saw her in there. She was a Reject."

"What the shuck are you talking about _now,_ Harriet?" Minho asked in exasperation. For the past hour or so he had been fighting the knot forming at the back of his head. There were so many things going on at once and he didn't know which to figure out first. Then _she _appeared out of nowhere. Leo had choked on a piece of bread when he saw her. Clint turned paper white when the boy, whose name they now knew as Cole, placed her on the clinic bed. All that confirmed what Minho hoped and dreaded at the same time.

For over a year he had learned to live with the fact that Alex was gone. And then, just when he thought he was one step closer to burying his past it jumped back at him with so much force it left his ears buzzing with adrenaline. Now, the question was no longer whether or not Alex survived the Griever attack. The question was this: Is she still the same girl who went up that Box or did someone managed to screw her up beyond recognition?

Gally nodded towards the thin scar running the width of Alex's neck. "He's definitely the Med-jack." Then as an afterthought, he added, "Or should I say _she_."

Thomas shook his head in confusion. "Seriously. There were dozens of you. I don't understand why none of you knew any better."

"Oh one of us did," Clint laughed mirthlessly. He gave Minho a dirty look. The taller boy rolled his eyes at him.

"Don't give me that shuck now Clint. I have a headache."

"Then you better give us a good excuse for hiding the fact that we had a girl in the Glade other than because you didn't want to share."

Minho would have clipped the be-freckled boy if he didn't think he deserved such attitude. He knew he betrayed them by agreeing to keep Alex's secret. He was a Keeper after all. They all trusted him to tell them everything he knew. And obviously he did a banged-up job at that.

"She asked me, even begged me to," he deadpanned. It was the truth. "It was a mistake keeping it. I didn't know what I was thinking."

"Maybe you weren't," Sonya pointed out. It was the first time she had spoken since they arrived at the clinic.

Minho had a smart retort at the ready when the front door opened and in came a few people.

"Sorry to interrupt you folks," Jaime said, "Just dropping by to see how this one is doing." He came in last following Elliot, an elderly man with thinning hair and Cole, the teenage boy whom Minho tackled earlier. The youngest among the four paused when he saw the almond-eyed navigator and the two started glaring daggers at each other.

"I like what I did to your face," Minho grinned, nodding at the bruises adorning his cheeks and busted lip, "Brings out the color of your shuck eyes."

Clint braced himself or another fist fight, considering how the two looked ready to tear each others' throats any time. To his surprise, the stranger merely scoffed at him. "Hey, at least I wasn't the one who got creamed by a girl."

Clint's eyebrows raised up to his hairline. Thomas' jaw dropped. Gally poked his tongue at the inner part of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.

"Shuckface finally found his match," the Builder murmured to himself. Harriet nodded in agreement.

Before Minho could reply, Cole turned his back on him and went over to Alex's bedside. He knelt down so he was face to face with the sleeping girl. Without missing a beat, he ran his fingers through her hair, frowning when he realized it was still caked with blood.

"That hot chick got you bad, squirt," he whispered. "Don't worry. You messed her boyfriend up pretty badly. Let's call it even."

Minho was so preoccupied watching the odd exchange in front of him that he didn't hear Elliot speaking until he was halfway through an entire sentence.

"What did you say?" he asked

"We're having a council meeting STAT," Elliot repeated. "Cole, you're coming too. Let the girl sleep. From what I heard she's with old friends so she's in good hands."

As they piled out of the room one by one, an old conversation from a lifetime ago came to Minho's mind. It happened days after the Banishment of the three boys who attacked the then clueless Med-jack, back when they were still trying to figure out what WICKED wanted from them.

_"We'll figure this out together, just like in the Maze."_

_"Yeah. Okay."_ She had smiled then. At that moment he had been so sure that she would recognize him anywhere, even from a mile away.

'"Together" won't work this time, Alexandria,' he thought miserably. 'Not if you stay like that.'

_Please come back._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ I'm going to be honest with you guys, I seriously want to whack Alex in the head. Maybe that will work. Change the plot and stuff.

The biggest THANKYOU! to the following reviewers of the more recent chapters: **guess the guest, vikitria, crank628, Sheba3, andreams512, amillipede, **and a few other guests. Good to know I'm not alone in this journey with these butt-crazy characters. Love you!


	6. Friends and Strangers

When the Glade's first leader, Nick, got severed in half and was buried under a slab of glass, his second-in-command, Alby, had no choice but to step up as the new leader. During those times, the Glade experienced a shift in paradigm.

Nick and Alby ruled differently. Nick was a visionary. He was always busy thinking of ways to make their lives better and was always aiming for what was ideal. And since things in their little world were anything but, they could see that Nick had a hard time making up his mind. He always wanted to hear the opinion of others before making a final decision.

Alby was a doer. He was pragmatic. If he thought he knew what was best for the Gladers, then he had no qualms overruling the opinion of the other Keepers. Plus, his stint at being second-in-command gave him the stomach to initiate the dirty jobs like banishments and pushing troublemakers off the Cliff. Combine all these aspects of Alby and what they had was a firm no-nonsense leader who knew what he wanted when he wanted it. This would have been perfect if _his _second-in-command wasn't as opinionated and temperamental as Minho.

They tried the Alby-Minho tandem for a week and it was a disaster. Most of the time they had different opinions on how to solve issues and problems. As a result, they spent more time arguing than coming up with a solution. One time they argued so badly that they were nose to nose with each other. The other Keepers were rolling their eyes and getting headaches from their raised voices.

A head of blonde hair peeked by the entrance of the Gathering room, which was shortly followed by the rest of Newt's body.

"Listen you blokes," he started, "I know this isn't my place to say anything but can you please keep your bloody voices down. Most of the shanks outside are starting to think the Glade is falling apart. It's shucking hysteria. I had to pull every half lie out of my arse to stop them from jumping all over the place."

"_You _kept them calm?" Minho asked.

Newt gave him an annoyed look. "Someone had to do it, yeah?"

It was as if two lightbulbs simultaneously lit up over Alby and Minho's heads. Both turned to look at the Runner-in-training.

"How does being second-in-command sound to you Newt? You up for it?"

The blonde boy was caught off-guard. "Actually, I-"

"Better give me an answer right now," Alby cut him off before glaring at the dark-haired Runner, "'Cause this shuckface is getting sacked."

* * *

That night, Minho caught Newt sitting in one of the tables. Every now and then someone would pat him on the back and congratulate him for the promotion. Minho took the seat across him and ruffled his hair.

"How d'you find the job description?" Minho asked, deftly swiping a slice of pork chop on his friend's plate and shoving it in his mouth.

"A bit boring. Loads of talking. Very tedious. Nothing I can't handle." Newt shook another hand before continuing. "You're okay with it though, right? Me replacing you." All afternoon he had wondered how his Keeper would react to the news. He didn't want to offend Minho, not when he was one of the Gladers he counted on the most.

Minho laughed at his worried look. "Newt you just did me a favor. Those Gatherings were killing me. You know how I feel about sitting still for too long, making decisions while I'm on my ass. I was going crazy."

Newt rolled his eyes at this. "Listen shank, we can't always put you in a life-or-death situation just so you could come up with a decision. You gotta learn how to do it civilly. Or as you so wonderfully put it, while sitting on your arse."

* * *

It wasn't the first time Minho wished so badly that Newt was there with them. The blonde's sudden disappearance and the fact that he might never know what happened to him had been a bitter pill to swallow. It was one of those hard blows that he had a hard time recovering from. And for every council meeting that he helplessly sat through he was reminded of just how much he lost that day Newt decided to take off.

_Be civil and sit on your ass._ He repeated the line like a mantra as they entered the Council room. Gally modeled it closely after the big room in the Homestead where the Gatherings were held. It was sparse and spacious. Its only furniture were a long table and a few chairs located right in its center. The walls were made of smooth, bare wood and only the western side had two square windows on them. He followed Elliot and Jaime as they sat on one side of the table. The old man and the younger boy took their seats on the other side.

Jaime spoke up first. "It's good to see you alive and well Dr. Withering. Though I admit, it would have been better if we met under less hostile circumstances." He threw a look at both Cole and Minho. The former merely rolled his eyes while the latter stuck his tongue out at the town healer. Jaime shook his head. "Anyway. We're forgetting our manners. Let me introduce ourselves to you."

"I know who you are Dr. Flanagan," Bill chuckled at the forty-year old with graying sideburns.

"For you friend's sake. My name is Jaime. I'm the one in charge with running the clinic and managing the supplies for potable water. This is Elliot Dormer, the one in-charge for overall security and this champ over here is Minho..."

"Just Minho."

"Right," he continued. "He's in-charge of navigation and resource. We couldn't have gotten half of the things we need right now if it wasn't for him and his team. Too bad you guys hit off to a bad start."

"Not my fault," Minho piped in.

"I saw you chasing after Millie. Thought you were some shank past the gone," Cole explained matter-of-factly.

"With this hair?" the Runner pointed at the well-orchestrated mess of dark locks in his head. "Up yours."

"Minho for goodness' sake," Elliot mumbled. He rubbed his temples tiredly. "Cut them some slack will you?"

The younger boy glared at him. "I honestly don't see why you look so tired, shuckface."

Cole let out a surprised laugh upon hearing this. "So that's really a word then." He remembered how Alex used to call him that whenever they had a go at each other.

There was a long pause as the older men allowed the two teenagers to settle down.

"Oh, I'm Cole. In case you forgot," the young man said amidst the awkward silence. He turned to Bill.

"Time to spill the beans," the old man sighed. "My name is William Withering. I was a geneticist working mainly on genomics before WICKED approached me to aid them in their quest to find a cure for the Flare."

Cole's jaw dropped. His blue eyes widened in surprise. It didn't take long for the rest of them to figure out that this was news to him as well.

"I was part of the team studying those young Immunes, trying to figure out what made us different." At this, his bleary eyes locked at Minho whose fists clenched tightly in front of him. "Yes, I remember you."

"Good thing I can't say the same for you." His voice was flat but there was no mistaking the venom in it.

"When Janson told me what they had in store for those kids, the inhumane conditions they planned to put them through, I immediately knew I didn't want to be a part of it. I walked out the first chance I got and took my wife Helena with me. My friend Hans wasn't so lucky."

Minho remembered in passing how the aging scientist sounded so bitter at the mention of WICKED.

"He had to make a choice between destroying the lives of a handful of kids or watching everything he owned get taken by WICKED. He chose the former because he knew it was inevitable. So considering those unfortunate circumstances, I hope you could forgive him."

"Yeah," the Runner replied. "If he refused to create the Swipe they would've killed him and found another scientist to do it for them anyway. I get it."

"And you needed to be sitting in front of a _council_ to tell me about that?" Cole asked, obviously feeling betrayed at having been kept in the dark all those years. "That's fucked up, Bill."

"Those were dark times Cole," Bill replied steadily. "The lesser you knew the safer you were. Sorry."

"So," Elliot cleared his throat, "Forgive me if I sound rude but may we know what brought you here?"

Even Minho's attention was picqued. He had so many questions himself, though he wasn't sure if he was ready for the answers.

Bill told them about how Denver had been overrun by Cranks. A small group of Munies which included the four of them had learned to hide from these monsters for years. Four months ago, things had spiraled out of control. They knew they wouldn't survive if they didn't make a run for it.

"Hans told me about this place," he said. "It was the nearest stronghold of the Immunes within hundreds of miles. Considering the wastelands we had to pass through to get to the others, we knew this was the only sanctuary for us."

Jaime shook his head in disbelief. "Four months. I'm surprised the little kid survived the journey."

"Millie knew he had to," Cole replied. "We're tougher than you think."

Minho was silent. His mind was in a different zone altogether.

They spent four months wasting away in a desert. Alex was being baked by the shucking sun while he was busy making his own bedroom. He couldn't help but wonder what she had been doing while he was in bed with Sonya, all those times thinking that she was no longer anything but a memory.

Did she feel safe?

Who did she wake up to talk with her when she couldn't sleep?

Did she meet Newt?

And if she did, were they both too far gone to remember that they had been friends once?

He knew he shouldn't feel it, but guilt began to weigh down his already heavy shoulders. He should have known. He should have listened to what his guts were trying to tell him. There had to be a reason why his heart always jumped out of this throat with every green-eyed girl he saw. The circumstances he had found himself in was so ridiculous he could only think of one word to summarize everything he felt about it.

"Shuck."

Elliot gave him a sideway glance before continuing. "My friend, Jaime had mentioned it before. You came at a bad time."

Bill and Cole exchanged worried glances.

"A couple of weeks ago we would have taken you in with no questions asked. Now we're facing a threat. And we have to make sure you're not one of them. Ever heard of the Right Arm?"

There was a long pause which was broken by Cole. "Yeah we've heard of them. They're people against WICKED."

"A couple of months ago they began taking Immunes and selling them to WICKED." Elliot's voice shook with suppressed anger. "To get the funds _they_ needed to bring the organization down. As if it's not bad enough that they were selling us to the people we were running away from, they thought it would be mighty fine to bring WICKED down on us. Literally. So," he shifted in his seat, unable to hide his agitation, "Forgive me if I'm a bit wary about having those people in here."

Cole gave him an incredulous look. "Bill and me? We're not Right Arm. Trust me."

"I wish we could take your word for it Cole," Jamie apologized.

"You don't." Blue eyes glanced at Bill. "We need to tell them we're running away from them as well."

"Jesus Christ to hell with telling stories!" Bill ran a hand over his weary face. "We've just crossed a desert for Pete's sake." He went on anyway. "Long story short, four months ago, the Right Arm caught Millie. He's Immune. The kid managed to escape. It was a miracle really. We took our chances with half-crazy Cranks but we couldn't afford to risk it with armed men on their right minds. So we took off and ran. You see, we're just like you. We want them out of our way as much as you want them out of yours."

"Wait," Minho raised his left hand. "Did you just say four months ago?"

Bill nodded.

"It's just that the Right Arm was kidnapping Munies to sell to WICKED. WICKED has been gone for more than six months now so it can't be that."

"What's your point?" Cole asked.

"They want the kid for something else." Dark eyes locked with Bill's. "What is it?"

Jaime and Elliot learned forward, eager to know the answer.

"I don't know kid."

"You're bluffing," Minho deadpanned. "Of course you do or you wouldn't have traveled all the way here. What's a bunch of shanks compared to bat crazy Cranks?"

When Bill looked down he knew he was right. And any minute now he will know why. The old man knew he had to sing if they want to stay.

"Look, I get it," he continued. "You did what you had to do. You're just looking after your own. But so are we. You have something or someone the Right Arm wants. And we're not about to put an entire village in jeopardy without knowing what it is."

'They have Alex you stupid shuck,' a voice in his head raged. 'If you let her go again it will be on you!'

There was a long pause. Bill and Cole wore the same unreadable expression in their faces. They were hiding something. Minho was sure of it. Finally, Cole turned and glared at him.

"What if we tell you we have one of the components of the Cure?"

"There is no cure," Jaime replied.

"Wanna bet?"

Minho rolled his eyes. "Don't get cheeky slinthead. You have one chance to convince us."

Elliot raised his eyebrow as Cole stood up and pulled his pants down, revealing a thigh full of perfectly round indentations.

The dark-haired boy laughed. "I gotta give it to you man, you sure know how to make a statement."

"Those are vaccination scars, dickhead." The boy pulled his pants up and leaned forwards with his hands planted on the tabletop.

"You are looking at the world's first cured Crank."

* * *

Alex had to go out for supplies.

The day all hell broke lose in Denver they had decided it was Cole's job to scavenge for food and everything else they needed to get by. However, the night before he had gotten sick and was throwing up for the whole morning. Food and water was running out fast. She had to make the run.

Armed with their trusty baseball bat and a knife tucked in each of her boots, she and a fellow survivor named Chris made their way through the desiccated city, scavenging shopping marts and ruined apartments in search of anything and everything.

"Beginner's luck," Chris scoffed as Alex shifted the bulging backpack of supplies behind her. She grinned under the weight.

"Is it too much to ask when I say I hope there won't be a second time? I'd rather stay at home and play scrabble with the kid."

The bulky man was about to reply when something in the middle of the road caught his attention. The grin on her face disappeared as she followed his line of sight. The pavement was empty save for the occasional trash that tumbled lightly on the asphalt and a figure lying in the middle of it, right where the yellow lines divided the left lane from the right. From afar all she could see were dirty white clothes and tufts of blonde hair swaying against the dusty wind.

"That guy's dead," Chris mumbled.

Alex nodded. "I know. Give me a sec." Despite his cries of protest, she walked briskly down the road until she was a few feet away from the body. It was a boy. He looked too still to be alive. A puddle of blood formed on the pavement by his head. His back was facing her.

"Get back here you idiot!" Chris growled.

She raised her index finger, signalling for him to give her a minute. With a thundering chest, she walked around the body so she could see his face.

Alex collapsed on her knees in front of him. Her mind had gone too numb to think of anything better to do.

He couldn't have been dead for more than an hour. The lone wound on his forehead, which she thought couldn't have been anything else but a gunshot wound still oozed with blood. His cheeks were still flushed. His lips were still moist. She waited for him to take a breath. To gasp. To sit up and grab her by the neck the way they did in those books she read at night.

'Breathe,' she urged him silently. 'Breathe.'

He never did. And despite all hopes, she knew he never will. Not long after, Chris grabbed her by the arms and told her to run. Cranks were coming.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

She didn't even know his name. All she could do was make one up which she thought suited him.

_Nicholas. Noel. Nestor. Isaac._

None of them sounded right.

A couple of turns later when all was quiet and still, Chris turned to the silent girl on his right.

"You knew that guy?"

She didn't. But a part of her wondered that maybe, just maybe, she did and she just forgot.

"I don't know."

* * *

If there was anything that could make the sleep drain out of her faster than a Crank on a raging fit it was the memory of that dead boy. Her eyes fluttered open and she immediately sat up on bed. As if on cue, the world around her began to spin. She moaned as she fought away the black ring at the edge of her vision.

"She's awake." She heard a male voice say.

"Quick, call them," said another.

There was the sound of hurried footsteps growing fainter by the second and two boys popped in front of her. One had graying her and a sprinkle of freckles on his face. The other had dark brown hair and sunken cheeks. As her vision cleared and their faces grew sharper, she realized that the former had gone pale.

She tilted her head to one side and shifted her gaze to the second boy who was looking at his friend worriedly.

"Clint," he said. "C'mon man."

"I know, I know," the one named Clint snapped.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. Her voice had gone hoarse from lack of use. Panic bubbled at the pit of her stomach, threatening to spill out of her mouth and pores. She urged it to stay down, gulping in deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. It wasn't the first time she woke up clueless. She knew all too well how utterly useless panicking was.

"What happened? Where am I?"

"My name is Thomas. You're in Paradise. You're safe now," the second boy replied, sensing her frayed nerves.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember what happened. The back of her head throbbed with pain.

'Relax. Relax.'

She remembered cooking. Then Millie was screaming. Bill was nowhere to be seen. By the time she reached their clearing someone had Cole by the neck and was punching him to a pulp. That boy, he knew her. He recognized her.

When she opened her eyes, she glared directly at Thomas.

"Bullshit."

* * *

They were talking about the kid and how his blood was a primary component of the vaccine against the Flare. Everyone was excited, even him. But Minho had more pressing matters in mind. He wanted to know how Alex ended up with them. Why doesn't she remember him? He wanted to grill them about it when a loud shout came from outside.

"Millieeeee!"

He could recognize that voice anywhere. Without thinking twice, he bolted out of his seat and sprinted out to the nearest exit before one of the Gladers even reached the Council Room. By the time he was out of the First House, Alex was in the middle of the road, turning heads with her hysterical cries. Crazed green eyes grew wide with panic.

In those few seconds that he stood there looking at her, his brain and his heart engaged in a skirmish.

_Go after her, slinthead! It's her! It's her!_

_She doesn't recognize you. If you tackle her now she'll kick you in the balls._

_You have to try, please! It's her! She's alive._

_Don't be stupid. Sonya is watching._

His brain short-circuited.

"Alex," he called out as he ran towards her. To do what, he didn't know. He wanted to hug her. He wanted to kiss her. He just didn't know what to do.

The moment she caught sight of him she took a step back. There was fear in her eyes. Even so, she raised her fists in front of her, readying for a fight.

"Don't come any closer." Her voice shook. "Or I swear I'll..."

"What the hell are you doing huh?" His voice shook as well and he fought to keep it steady. He slowed down to a walk. "Alex, you know I would never-"

"Stop!" she shrieked. Then she added in a low whisper, "Stop calling me that. I don't know who you are."

He shook his head vigorously. "Don't shucking say that! For Christ's sake." His entire face heated up, making his eyes water. He blinked a couple of times. "Listen, it's me." It pained him to continue. For him to continue, to introduce himself to her _again _meant he had accepted that things had changed for the worse.

"Minho. My name is Minho. You already know that, come on." He took a couple of steps forward, raising his hands in surrender until he was only inches away from her.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. He tried to touch her in the arm and she slapped him away. "I've seen what you did to Cole! Where is he?!"

"I'm not gonna hurt you-"

"I don't trust you-"

"Goddamit, Alex!"

The shorter girl jumped in alarm. The boy in front of her looked like he was hyperventilating. He was red in the face and everything about him spoke of someone on the verge of losing it.

"Stop this," he gasped. "You can't _say _klunk like that you know why? Because you _promised _you'd come and find me. How in the world will you do that if you don't know who I am?" Memories of living in WICKED's facility were coming back to him in bits and pieces. One of the first things he remembered was the promise she made before he took the Swipe. Alex didn't make promises she couldn't keep. He knew that much.

After much hesitation, she lowered her shaking hands down. He looked at her with so much recognition it was impossible for it not to be true. But she had nothing.

"I'm sorry," she started. "But I don't know what you're talking about. I...I don't know anything. Not your name or who I was, nothing. Bill and Cole and Millie...they're my family now. They're all that I have. So please," she laced her fingers in both hands and raised it to her chest, "Please tell me where they are. I need to know that they're okay."

"Alex?" A child's voice came from behind him. In the blink of an eye, the dark-haired girl pushed him out of the way and ran towards the boy with the glasses. She enveloped him into a tight hug.

"Millie. Gosh you scared the crap out of me!" She cupped the boy's face with her hands and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"Leave some for me."

"Cole!"

Minho watched from a distance as their newest adopted members reconciled in excited embraces and bickering. They looked so happy. He had the irrational urge to break the moment and scream Alex's ears off until she came around.

'No way,' he thought. 'No way in hell.'

He strode towards the small group and straight into Clint and Thomas. He struggled to get past them.

"Slow down cowboy," Clint scolded. "For shuck's sake shank. Sonya looks about ready to bite your head off."

"What the shuck is wrong with her?" he blurted out, putting all his hurt and frustration in that one sentence. "How come she doesn't remember anything? Not even the Maze." She slipped out of the Med-jack's grasp and slammed into Thomas.

"Get a hold of yourself!" The usually soft-spoken boy barked, causing Minho to pause.

"Look I remember her too, okay? I remember her before the Maze. She used to work under WICKED. Memory loss isn't something new for us so we'll figure it out later. Right now you gotta get your klunk together and give her time to breathe. Geez, shank you're scaring all of us."

"What's happening to you?" Clint asked worriedly. Minho never panicked, not when they dashed out of the Maze armed with pathetic pointy sticks and not when they fought the demonic mutants in the desert. Now it was as though he wasn't thinking things through at all.

The Runner felt breathless, the way he usually did after sprinting for a solid twenty minutes. He would gasp and gasp for oxygen yet he couldn't get rid of the air hunger in his lungs. He felt this too minutes after that Griever dragged her out of sight like a skewered rag doll, right after he thought he had lost her forever.

_I don't know who you are._

He looked at her looking at him. He could see it in her eyes. To her, he was a stranger.

Perhaps he did lose her after all.


	7. Candor

_**Disclaimer:**_I still do not own TMRS. Boohoo.

* * *

There was one time a couple of months ago when they navigated so far from Paradise that they had to spend a night in the woods. Jorge started a fire while Minho plotted the schedule for when each of them would have to wake up and act as guards. As the night grew deeper, their lead navigator began waking them up in pairs to minimize the risk of a lone guard falling asleep by accident. That time it had been his and Thomas' turn.

Thomas watched from where he sat on top of a fallen log as Minho untangled himself from Sonya's long limbs. The girl mumbled in protest and planted a kiss on his friend's neck before the latter managed to extricate himself from her embrace. He gave Minho a tongue-in-cheek look as he sat next to him.

"What?" the dark-haired boy asked defensively. "As if you're any better with Brenda."

Thomas chuckled and shook his head. "Nope."

They were worse. Despite the both of them having only two arms each they almost always managed to get hopelessly tangled with each other. And if their arms got tangled, then soon their tongues followed. It was an addictive cycle.

"I'm...I dunno," Thomas cleared his throat. "It's...I dunno how to explain it."

Minho rolled his eyes. "You're klunkfaced head-over-heels with her. That's what it is. You can't get enough of her and it shows. Well, I hear you two often enough. Break the bed often?"

"Hey knock it off," Thomas spat, turning an unusual shade of maroon.

"For shuck's sake shank, get used to it. Everybody's doing it now."

Thomas was used to the ex-Glader's catty remarks but he had yet to get used to his bone-piercing candor. The ugliest truths roll out of his mouth so easily that it often got him into trouble.

"What about you?" he asked. "I don't see you bursting to get out of your pants with Sonya, considering her looks."

"Because I'm cool like that," Minho drawled half-heartedly, fighting the urge to sleep. After a long pause, he added, "Sonya's alright. Nah, she's more than alright. I like her." This caused Thomas to snigger.

"You like her." After receiving a very pointed look from the older boy, he added in a low voice, "I know that's supposed to be an understatement but why do I get the feeling that that's all there is to it?"

"Well shuck it. What do you want me to say?"

Thomas shifted his gaze towards the glowing embers in front of them. "I've been getting some of my memories back. And I remember that there was a girl in the Glade before Teresa." He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat at the mention of his late best friend's name. Her memory was one that he was always too hesitant to visit.

In the darkness, he could see Minho's silhouette as he turned to look at him. Thomas continued, "I saw you with her. In the Deadheads." He could feel him bristling at the revelation and he unconsciously shifted away.

Minho fought to keep the impassive look on his face. The only giveaway of the turbulence within him was the way his knuckles whitened over the bandages on his palms. At times he still found it unsettling that Thomas, the boy who saved them all and one of the closest friends he had, was one of the people who had put them through that three-year nightmare. Thomas was on the other side of the screen as he felt himself come apart at the seams and _he _did nothing to help him with the pieces. He knew it wasn't the boy's fault. He was just as much of a pawn as everybody in those trials were. Still, every now and then he had to remind himself of that fact because of the deep grudge he felt towards WICKED, which in some occasions extended towards Brenda, Jorge, and Thomas.

"It was Alexandria, wasn't it?" Thomas continued, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Yeah." Minho shrugged nonchalantly. "It's funny because she was so hell-bent on keeping her real identity from everybody else. Went to great lengths to keep it under wraps. Now that everybody's getting their memories back, they will most likely recognize her and figure out who she really was. All that trouble for nothing." He laughed as he bent his head down, hiding his face further from view.

"You loved her." It was more of a statement than a question.

The former Keeper of the Runners nodded slowly. "In the best way I knew how, which isn't really something she could brag about if you ask me."

There was a long and awkward pause. Minho was the one to break it. "Anyways, she's dead now so it doesn't matter."

In the back of Thomas' mind, he could remember himself sobbing in remorse.

_"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."_

The tone of Minho's voice told him that the conversation about this topic was finished. Pushing it further would put him at risk of being the brunt of the boy's sour mood. So he thought of another topic that could help them get their mind off those gloomy memories.

"Was she your first?"

The two boys exchanged looks. Even with only the dim glow of the dying embers as his source of light, Minho could tell that all the blood in Thomas' body was in his face again.

"Could you repeat the question?" he teased.

"Didid-Did you do it with her before you did it with _her_?" Thomas stuttered as he nodded at the sleeping blonde from across the clearing. The words spilled out of his mouth so rapidly it barely sounded coherent.

"Well, what do you remember?"

"Not much. I haven't gone that far yet."

Minho scratched the back of his head. "You gossip worse than those Group B girls. Geesh."

Thomas giggled, not expecting an answer from the other boy.

"Hmm, what was that word again?" Minho wondered. "Virtuous...Virginia...Virginity! Yeah! Sonya took it, my virginity."

Thomas was appalled at the way he was talking about it. It was as if Sonya had just _borrowed_ something as ordinary as a carpentry tool from him. Minho may be a lot of things but modest wasn't one of them.

"...okay."

"And trust me shuckface, if the Glade saw _that_ kind of action it would the first thing you'll remember."

* * *

**PRESENT**

He knew that look. The furrowed eyebrows. The shiny, hazel eyes. The flushed nose. That look spoke of trouble. And he could tell he was going to have a long and difficult night in a few hours.

With a heavy sigh, Minho closed his bedroom door shut. Almost immediately Sonya bolted up from where she sat on his bed and crossed the room in two long strides, abruptly stopping in front of him. The girl was livid.

"Are you gonna hit me?" he asked.

"Should I?" Her voice shook when she spoke. He could tell she wanted to.

He didn't say anything. How could he? He couldn't even look at her in the eyes, too afraid of what she might see in his if he did.

"I'm asking you!"

"Then I'm saying no, don't do it." He reached out to caress her cheek. She leaned against his hand for awhile before slowly pulling away. Tearful eyes looked out of his small window.

"I may never know what it was that happened between the two of you in the Maze but I remember the past well enough."

She looked at him and was greeted with furrowed brows and a confused look.

"Minho, you loved her." It ate at her pride to say that out loud but it was the truth. And she could feel it in her guts that he still did. That part she couldn't say out loud. It was too much.

"Sonya, we were kids," he said incredulously. Not knowing what else to do, he enveloped her in a bearhug, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. 'Alex or no Alex she doesn't deserve this,' he thought. 'She had been so kind to him. She had given him what he had needed in those dark times.'

'_She gave you a distraction, Minho,_' the sinister voice inside his head murmured. '_That's all it ever was, wasn't it?_'

"Listen to me," he tucked at lock of blonde hair behind her ear and cupped her face gently, "Whatever it was that happened before it's done. She doesn't remember it." Then, he looked away. "Neither do I."

'_Don't talk when you're angry, shank. We both know it's bound to come back. All of it.'_

"So why do I get the feeling that you wanted it back?" She looked up to meet his gaze. Even she was amazed that she had managed to keep it together this long. "Whatever it was, you wanted it badly enough to lose it in front of everybody."

A few minutes ago, she had made a decision. She was leaving him. Sonya was up for competition. She did it all the time with the girls. But she never wanted to compete when it came to Minho because she wasn't supposed to. Now she had a feeling she _had _to and it seemed as though she was on the losing side.

She wanted out. And she will break him the news.

Anytime now.

Almond eyes locked their gaze on her. He was determined to give her the kind of loyalty that he had given to his friends. Sonya deserved that much.

"That first night we spent together, I gave you my word didn't I? And you may think it's all klunk right now but I intend on keeping it. Regardless of all that's been happening, you have me. Whatever I have right now, it's yours. Has been for quite awhile now," he smiled.

'All of you except the one thing I want,' she thought. And then she wasn't thinking anymore. Minho wasn't a liar.

Sonya hated herself as she buried her face on his chest. She hated the way she flinched with every strong thump of his heart. It was a constant reminder of a part of him that can never be hers. And as she listened to it, she thought she could hear it calling out to its rightful owner.

_Alex. Alex. Alex. Alex._

_._

_"Maybe we feel empty because we leave pieces of ourselves in everything we used to love."_

_-R.M. Drake_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ I admit, I didn't expect Sonya to step up her game this much. I expected her to be this one-dimensional character Minho has a good time with but she isn't, is she? And now I'm actually feeling for her because in this situation she's the underdog. Minho doesn't mean it and he doesn't WANT it but...well, he can't lie to himself. Anyhow, how are you guys liking it? I know things are slow at the moment and Alex's return has turned everything into a Feels-fest. But have faith. I'd like to think there's more to it than that. Lemme know what you think alright? Leave your reviews and if I can, I'll try to reply back.

A BIG BIG HUG TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS. LOVE YOU!


	8. Subjects and Rejects

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own TMRS.

* * *

The first time Cole laid eyes on her, he thought she was a corpse. Bill woke him up in the middle of the night and had asked the seventeen-year old to walk with him in the dead woods behind their dilapidated house.

"Leave it," Bill said when Cole reached for the baseball bat. It was their weapon of choice when it came to scaring away the occasional intruder.

"But I thought you said there's a Crank." By then he was confused. His foul mood wasn't helping his half-asleep mind.

"Didn't say anything about any Crank," the old man replied. "Just do what you're told. Come on."

The stuffy evening air hit his face as they stepped out of the back door. It was dark outside. There was nothing but a faint glow of the waxing moon to make their path visible in fuzzy gray monotones. The deeper they went in their dried-up backyard, the more anxious he became. He felt defenseless without his trusty bat.

"Bill, tell me you haven't gone insane," he said. "Where are you taking me?"

The older man stopped in his tracks. Cole nearly collided with his back. The teenager struggled to see what Bill was staring at. It didn't take too long for his eyes to adjust in the darkness and see what it was.

Or _who_ it was.

A few yards away from them, on a patch of ground lit by the moon, was something which resembled an oversized duffel bag. Inside it was body lying on its back. Its face was turned away from them, making it hard to tell if it was a male or a female.

Cole cleared his throat nervously. "Shit. How do you think that dead body ended up in this part of the woods?" He was already dreading the part where Bill would ask him to get rid of it. A dead person was the last thing he wanted to go near to.

Instead of answering, Bill walked towards it. Cole rolled his eyes and followed suit. It was only when the older man squatted down beside the plastic bag and turned the person's head towards them that he realized it was a girl. No doubt about it. He stared slack-jawed at the pale face which was littered with tiny cuts and bruises.

'What a shame,' he thought. She looked like they were the same age, maybe younger. Bill tore the front part of the paper gown she was wearing, exposing her chest.

Cole's stomach churned uncomfortably. It wasn't the fact that he was staring at somebody's breasts that caught him off guard. Right over the part where he thought the heart should be was a huge oozing wound the size of his fist. What he assumed used to be a gaping hole was stitched closed haphazardly with thick sutures. Staple wires reinforced parts of the wound where the skin looked overstretched, the metal bits glinting menacingly at them.

"Who could do such butchery?" Bill whispered.

"But look she's breathing!" Cole said excitedly. The rhythmic rising of her chest never faltered even though it looked as if it may fall apart any second now.

Bill took her hand and pinched one of her icy fingers. To his relief, the girl's face crumbled into a pained grimace.

"What did you do that for?" the younger man asked.

"Alright," he replied. He took off his suede jacket and put it over the girl's torso. "Cole. Let's take her back to the house."

Cole made a disapproving sound. "Are you sure about that old man? She could be a Crank."

The herbalist with the thinning hair stood up and looked at him with a hint of a smile in his eyes. "If she was you would know, wouldn't you?"

* * *

The past few days had been uncomfortable, to say the least. Everyone was cautious in approaching the newest additions to Paradise's growing population. Cole was glad the leaders decided to keep his past "immunity status" a secret. Not counting the three members of the Council, Bill, Alex and Millie, everyone thought he was just an average Immune, which was good. He had a feeling they'd be less welcoming if they found out he used to be a Crank who nearly cracked his head open once when he deliberately banged it against a wall.

But if Cole thought his experience with the locals was challenging, he could only imagine how bizarre it was for Alex.

Many of the WICKED kids, most of them boys, paled at the sight of her.

_The cook, a dark-skinned boy with a buzz cut, let out a terrified yelp when she held up her bowl for him to fill up with dinner. After the initial shock, he crawled under the serving table, emerged in front of Alex and started shaking her by the shoulders._

_"Shuck it man! I thought you were dead! Where have you been hiding all these times huh? They said you got snatched by a shucking Griever man. SHUCK!"_

_One of the boys named Clint came up to the hysterical cook and whispered something in his ear. This seemed to have calmed him down. Alex, on the other hand, looked scarred for life._

_"What was that about?" Cole asked when she arrived at their spot in the dining area, which was mostly an open space with chopped parts of a huge tree to serve as lumpy seats._

_"One of the boys thought I died," she replied. She tried to act nonchalant about it but he could see that her hands were still shaking. After a long pause, she added, "He gave me an extra serving of corn and skipped the beans. Said he knows I hated those."_

_Bill raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"_

_Alex nodded._

Cole chuckled fondly at the memory. He looked sideways to see the said girl sitting in the corner of the hall with a pensive look on her face. On her lap sat Millie, whom she wrapped her arms around like a scared little girl holding on to her stuffed toy.

He thought she had every right to feel messed up. She was surrounded by people who knew the past she had been robbed with.

She turned out to be a Munie. And as truth after truth came to reveal itself, it became clear to him that she wasn't just another Munie. She was a property of WICKED. These were dark times. WICKED was associated with many dark things. Knowing that those two played a role in who she was, it seemed highly unlikely that the life she lived had been a happy story.

'Who would've thought?' he asked inwardly. He went back to Bill's revelation and suddenly things clicked into place.

Alex was a Subject of WICKED's trials.

Bill used to work for WICKED.

Only WICKED could deliver a half dead girl in somebody's doorstep and make sure she would be looked after.

It seemed impossible to assume that Alex's sudden appearance in Bill's life was nothing more than a coincidence. And to think the name he "picked" for her turned out to be the name those scientists gave to her. Cole knew he was missing the big picture. But he had an uneasy feeling that it wouldn't stay missing for long.

* * *

Millie had always been more receptive than most kids. It didn't take long for him to notice the turmoil inside Alex and so he simply sat still on her lap. He only moved every once in a while to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Finally after nearly half an hour, he asked, "Alex what's the matter?"

"What do you mean?"

Millie shifted his head so he could look at her. "You seem nervous."

She smiled at him. "I probably am."

"But this is good," he replied. "There's people here who know you. Maybe they can help you get your memories back. Clint told me you were friends and you used to be his pro-gee-tay."

"You mean protege," she chuckled.

"That's what I said."

She continued to smile as she ruffled his mop of dark hair. All the while she couldn't but wonder if this was really as good as Millie believed it to be. She had questions in her mind which ran in an endless loop.

_What kind of past wipes itself away from her memory completely?_

_What kind of past did she possibly have with WICKED?_

And the last and most unsettling question_, what kind of past led her to being stuffed inside a body bag with a hole in her chest?_

She wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answers.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Ignorance is bliss, isn't it Alex? Haha. How are you doing you guys? Hope to hear from you soon. Review. Love you all.


	9. Draining

_**Disclaimer: **_TMRS ain't mine

* * *

Millie had too much blood in him that it was making him sick. Bill called it polycythemia. The only way to make sure all that blood didn't end up killing him was to get some of it out on a regular basis.

That day was one of those days under "regular basis". Jaime was too busy caring after one of the locals who broke a leg. Hence, Clint was left to attend to Bill and Alex. He watched in fascination as Alex, the guy, or rather _girl_, whom he trained a lifetime ago moved in a manner so well-oiled it could only be caused by experience.

Bill explained to him the disease process while the seven-year old lied down the lumpy bed with a bored look on his face.

"But the kids will be having a game this afternoon and they've finally asked me to play," he whined when Bill told him he couldn't postpone the draining for the next day.

"Millie," Alex replied. "You've got plenty of chances to play with them next time." She tightened the tourniquet on his scrawny upper arm and unsheathed a large-bored needle. Clint shuddered at the sight of it. An uncomfortable tingling sensation crawled up his spine. The younger boy merely smirked at the pointed steel.

"What if the next time they ask me, it would still be on my draining day?"

The young woman gave Millie an exasperated look. "Then we'll ask them earlier and we don't take no for an answer. How's that? She had positioned the needle over of of his bigger veins when the boy lifted his head up and asked the most random question.

"Clint, do you wanna do it?"

All eyes turned on the freckled boy who gaped back at them in shock. He shook his head. "I don't want to botch it..."

"Even Bill doesn't hit the vein sometimes," Millie replied. "Give it a shot."

"Well." He sucked in a deep breath and made his way beside Alex. The slight girl gave him the cannula.

"Just go where the vein is headed. Don't prick too deep because this one's on the surface." She smiled at him. "It gets fun eventually."

"Obviously we don't share the same idea of fun," he mumbled.

With clammy fingers, he pricked the skin on Millie's arm with the needle. He couldn't help but let out an amused laugh as he saw thick red blood running through the plastic tube connected to the it. It drained towards a clear bag which laid on the bed beside the arm.

"Oh look! You're a natural," Alex complimented.

Bill chuckled. "Beginner's luck." She turned to him before nodding at the filling bag. "Want me to keep them Bill?"

"Nah. Without my stuff the blood will just spoil anyway."

While waiting for a couple more minutes to let gravity do its work, Alex pulled Clint in one corner for an overdue talk.

"Listen," she started. "I haven't really thanked you for patching the four of us up a few days ago. You have to know that we all appreciated what you and your friends did for us."

_Our friends,_ he wanted to correct her. He stayed silent.

"I'm sorry I screamed at you." She looked down on the floor feeling ashamed. "I panicked. I shouldn't have but I had no idea what was happening or where we were it just...it was scary."

"I know the feeling. Trust me," he smiled. "We've all been through the same thing. Including you."

"Twice," she scoffed. "Or thrice. I wouldn't know." After all, how does one keep track of the number of times she lost her memories anyway?

There was a long pause. The whole time, Clint looked at her and could almost see the gears turning and grinding at full speed inside her head. He could tell Alex was having an internal debate with herself.

"Are you mad?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you pissed off that I _apparently_ kept my real identity from you guys?" There was an awkward silence as Clint struggled to come up with a reply. Alex slowly added, "Those Maze girls cannot stop talking. I heard them say I pretended to be a boy for months and never told a soul about it."

This made Clint laugh. "Man, what should I say? I always thought you were a bit...girly anyway. Honestly I was more annoyed at Minho."

Alex raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Oh? How come?"

The Med-jack gave her a strange smile. "He busted you and he never told us about it. Even after your death-of-sorts."

"Clint. I know I should have asked you this the first chance I got." Green eyes stared back at him. "Can you tell me everything that happened in the Glade?"

"Me?"

After the day she and Minho both lost it in front of everybody, Clint and the older Gladers who knew her agreed not to mention anything about the Glade to her unless she asked them. He agreed because he had been a hundred percent sure he wasn't going to be the one answering the difficult questions when they came. Of course, life always managed to prove him wrong.


	10. Neighbors

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own TMRS.

* * *

_"I'm not gonna lie for your sake. I still think going into the Maze will be for the best. Once we finally come up with the right blueprints for the Cure, we'll have all that freedom we could only dream about now. Imagine that. We could build homes for ourselves. You and me. We'll be next-door neighbors or something."_

_Alex smiled and rested her head on his arm._

_"I like that. I like that very much."_

* * *

"Hiya, neighbor!" Cole greeted him with an annoyingly toothy grin. He walked past Minho carrying a burlap sack full of belongings and made his way to the cabin right next to the one Minho's room was in. The lead navigator's eyebrows flew up to his forehead when he saw Alex, Millie and Bill already standing in front of the cabin's entrance chatting excitedly amongst themselves.

He turned towards the front door of the cabin he shared with the other boys and saw Sonya standing by the porch with her arms crossed over her chest. She had a blank expression on her face but he knew her long enough to know that inside she as already fuming.

"Did that bastard just call me neighbor?" he asked as he made his way towards her. He gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Mmm-hmm," she replied acidly. "They got their job assignments today and have proven themselves vital members of the community." She turned to look at Minho, scrutinizing his poker face. "So they were rewarded with a place of their own, right next to _your _little home. Joy!"

"Sonya, c'mon," he sighed. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her catty remarks. He was too spent and exhausted.

The couple turned to look at their new neighbors and saw a pair of vivid green eyes staring back at them. Its owner was hugging an oversized knapsack on her chest. Upon meeting their gazes, she narrowed her eyes at them and cocked her head to one side.

Cole walked behind her and tugged at her ponytail, causing her to look at him and smile.

"It's rude to stare sweetheart," he said. "Let's go."

"Did he just call her sweetheart?" Minho asked.

Sonya shrugged. "Affected much?" she glanced sideways at him. "Sweetheart?"

"It was a simple question Sonya," he shot back.

"As simple as my question for you, Minho," she retorted.

They glared at each other for a long time. Finally, it was Sonya who broke the spell. She huffed at him and went back inside their cabin. "Whatever."

* * *

As Alex looked at the duo, she couldn't help but wonder what Clint meant earlier. Just as she had asked, he had told her about how their lives were like back in the Glade.

He mentioned names of strangers he swore she was close friends with.

He mentioned a Jeff and an Anton.

He mentioned mazes.

He mentioned attackers being thrown in Mazes.

He mentioned ugly hair and long days spent in a room much similar to the one they had been staying in as they waited for Millie's draining to finish.

None of them rang a bell. She didn't have the heart to say it out loud.

"To be honest, I'm not the right person to ask. If you want to know more, ask Minho. He knew you way more than I ever did."

Alex was surprised. She had yet to get over the raven-haired boy's image that was seared in her mind. It was an image of pure rage that nearly killed her dear friend. And now Clint was telling her to talk to him? Why Minho? Of all the boys in the Glade, she had to be linked to that arrogant, hot-headed, shuckfaced shuck.

When she said this to Clint, the latter merely chuckled. "You two have so much more in common than you think."

She studied him from afar and noticed how he looked at her with so much recognition in his eyes.

_Minho. Who were you to me?_

* * *

After months of wandering and sleeping underneath the skies, the four of them were more than happy to finally find a place they could call their home. It was a small cabin that they shared with Jorge and another guy in construction but that barely bothered them. Bill and Cole shared one room. Alex and Millie shared another. It was more than they had hoped for.

Alex and Millie were fixing up their new place when Cole's head popped in from the door.

"Did you see that asshole's girlfriend? Jesus, she's hot!"

"I _know_," she gushed, putting what little extra clothes they had away in one corner of the room. She added," Pretty face, perfect body, mile-long legs, plus I heard she was one of the queen bees in Maze B. Lucky bastard."

Cole gave her an odd look. "And you're okay with it?"

She replied with another odd look. "What?"

"I heard you and Minho go way back. And when I say way back I mean the dating kind."

Something erupted at the pit of her stomach. She quickly pushed the uneasy feeling away. "I wouldn't know. And if we did, that was before. They look happy now."

"In fairness to him, he has leveled up his taste of the female species."

Alex placed her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That girl is a bombshell. And you...you're a midget. You've got curves, sure but those are _nothing_ compared to Sonya's-" He was cut off mid-sentence with a blanket on the face.

"So much for being a friend," she growled. "Millie, let's kill him!"

Alex and Millie were too busy wrestling Cole down the floor that none of them noticed the young man looking at them front the other cabin's window. With a sad smile and a heavy sigh, Minho closed his curtains.


	11. Green Patch

_**Disclaimer: **_I do not own TMRS.

* * *

One of the earliest discoveries by the navigation team was a vast clearing in the middle of the woods. It was a safe haven of numerous vegetation, from the thorny weeds to the vital medicinal herbs. Harriet named it the Green Patch. It was a favorite among those who worked in the town apothecary. Its discovery tripled the number of tinctures, poultices, and liniments that they had in stock. To this day, a few of the aging herbalists still made their pilgrimage there, both to gather ingredients and to cultivate the land. The map to the patch was the most frequently borrowed item that the team owned.

* * *

"Hi. I need the Green Patch map. Can I borrow it?"

Thomas and Minho exchanged surprised looks before staring back at the girl in front of them. They were in the middle of mapping their new route and fussing over the minute details when Alex materialized in front of them out of nowhere.

The younger boy immediately stood up and went through the map drawer. Minho remained seated and frowned back at her. "What do you need it for?"

'What's your problem?' she thought. The past few days he had been looking at her like she was a steaming pile of crap every chance he got. She shook her head inwardly and maintained her civil approach. "Lisa asked me to gather some ginger and milk thistle for the party tonight. I think these are hangover remedies because from whats I heard, there's going to be booze."

She smiled at the almond-eyed boy, which made her feel more awkward since he continued frowning at her. Thomas sensed this and tried to lighten up the mood.

"Are you working with her now? In the apothecary?"

"Yeah!" she replied, albeit too enthusiastically. She was just happy he was making an effort to make her feel at ease, unlike Minho. "Bill and I. Actually, Bill is the master herbalist and I'm just the spice runner of sorts."

"You used to be a Med-jack so it makes sense. Right Minho?" Thomas elbowed his friend hard in the rib.

"Yeah," he replied. "Good to know you remember the little things."

Thomas gave him a warning glance. The message was obvious. _Don't go there._

"I remember plants at least."

"Would've been better if you remembered people. But I'm guessing we're not good enough for that."

This time Thomas, stomped on his foot under the table. Minho didn't care. He was too angry.

Alex could feel her cheeks heating up. After a long pause, she met his glare with one of her own.

"Maybe so. Oh well, you guys seemed to have moved on _just fine_ without me so I'm guessing I don't have anything to worry about."

She couldn't tell whether she was confused or hurt. She didn't think it was fair that he was holding her inability to remember the past against her. It wasn't something she had control over. On the other hand, Minho had been frantically searching earlier for even the tiniest spark of recognition from the dark-haired girl. With every second that she looked at him like a stranger, his temper boiled closer and closer to its breaking point.

_You promised._ The two words repeated themselves in his head like a loop. The memories she had left him with had plagued him for years. Now she stood there as if none of these happened. As if _they _didn't happen. It wasn't fair.

Alex blinked back the angry tears pushing from the back of her eyes and nodded at Thomas. "I'll return this to you when I get back." She turned towards the exit.

"Isn't Cole going with you?" Thomas called after her.

"Nah, he's with the Builders now."

Once outside, she studied the map for a moment and turned left.

"Jesus Christ. She hasn't used the map for one minute and she's already going the wrong way," Minho despaired.

Not long after, she passed by the doorway heading the opposite direction.

"You asshole," Thomas scolded him. "What the shuck was that?"

Minho merely shrugged and went back to drawing the maps.

The two didn't talk again until after they headed out of the Gates.

* * *

With the possibility of a threat nearby, navigation time was cut short by many hours. It meant they had they had to make more ground in a shorter amount of time. That meant running. Jorge, Sonya and a few other locals stayed on mapped routes for food gathering. Minho, Thomas, and Harriet, who all had been Runners during their stints in the Maze, continued to expand their maps.

Before splitting up, the lead navigator pulled Jorge aside.

"Nothing funny going on in the east side heading to the Green Patch is there?" He tried to sound nonchalant about it.

"Now that you mentioned it, we spotted a lone wolf in that area a couple of weeks ago. That's it."

"Just a wolf. Okay, cool."

Once the three Runners were out of earshot, the boy genius teased, "Oh so now you're worried about her, aren't you?"

"Shut up, shuckface," Minho growled and sprinted well ahead of the group.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_**: **Minho can be a bitch sometimes. Well, at least they're talking now.


	12. Guide

_**Disclaimer: **_I do not own TMRS.

* * *

Once when she was eleven and he was twelve, one of the kids dared her to stay in the basement for twenty minutes. It was a room situated underground where much of the compound's heating and water systems originated. Alby, one of the older subjects, managed to figure out the password for the hatch and in went Alexandria, bringing nothing but a pocket flashlight. She was gone for forty minutes.

After exchanging a few vulgar words with Alby, Minho went inside as well. A handful of turns and a couple of minutes later, he reached the center of the labyrinth-like room. He found her by the massive boiler. The metal cylinder was so huge it nearly touched the steel ceilings of the room and it made the little girl sitting beside it look like an out-of-place fungus.

"You idiot."

Alex seemed unfazed by the turn of events. She simply smiled up at him before standing up and dusting off the backside of her white pants.

"Sorry, I got lost." She laced her left arm onto his right. "So, which way?"

Annoyed, Minho pushed her away and started making his way out through the twisted steel. Alex was right beside him. "What?" she asked.

"We've been here three years," he started. "How is it possible that you _still _get lost?"

The younger girl merely shrugged, which only succeeded in annoying him more.

"I'm not like you, Min. Plus I've only been here once and it was with Jay. He was leading the way and I was just following him."

"Exactly! You've been here before. You should at least know the way out."

"I forgot."

"Then don't forget." The thought of leaving her there until one of the wards came looking after her crossed his mind. He was even tempted to do it. Alex's absent-mindedness when it came to remembering directions irked him to no end. It sucked the fun out of sneaking out after hours just because it gave Minho the extra burden of looking for her whenever she got lost.

"What if we finally get out of here and you find yourself in the middle of a big city. What then?"

She stayed silent, making him feel smug. It felt good to know that he made his point. They were already in the first hallway heading for the basement door when she spoke up.

"If I were to get lost in the middle of a big city, you know what my genius plan is?"

"What?"

"I'd stay right in the middle of the darn place and wait for you to find me." She smiled at him and playfully punched him on the arm. "Works every time."

* * *

Alex managed to reach the Green Patch just fine. Months of trekking had somehow improved her below average visual-spatial ability. Locating the clearing in the middle of the woods had been easy. It was after she had gathered all the milk thistle she could find, when the sun started to set and the place grew dark that things began to become a tad bit trickier.

She stood at the center of the clearing and squinted at the map for the umpteenth time. "Hmm."

It was quite simple. The exit was located at the southeast side of the woods. If she took at left turn on the first kilometer, she would be on her way to the east gate of Paradise. The only catch? She couldn't tell which was the northern and southern part of the darn patch.

"You've been here before," she mumbled to herself. "Trust your instincts. It never lies."

She squeezed her eyes shut then spun in place for a few times. Then she stopped abruptly and opened her eyes before nodding with conviction. "Right. That way then." She marched towards the edge of the clearing.

"You're going the wrong way shuckface."

Alex let out a surprised shriek.

"Who's there?!" She looked around nervously.

A tall figure stepped out from the opposite side of the woods. He stopped near the edge of the clearing and placed his hands on his hips. Minho rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Come on. It's this way."

The trek back started off with awkward silence. Minho was a couple of steps ahead of her. He said nothing and only looked back every couple of minutes or so to see if she was still trailing behind, which she was. She fumbled with the strap of her sling bag, unsure of what to do. Worse, she hadn't had anything to eat since morning and she was hungry. If she doesn't say anything soon, he was bound to hear her stomach growl. Pushing aside the annoyance she felt because of how he acted that morning, she decided to initiate small talk.

"I thought you guys were heading west today. Isn't that like on the opposite side from here?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"So what are you doing here?" She saw his sideway glance, which prompted her to add, "I mean I'm glad you're here. It's just that...I don't get it. How did you know I was lost?"

The Runner shrugged his broad shoulders. "Just a hunch."

The truth was, he didn't know she was lost. All he knew was that when the three of them arrived at Paradise half an hour before sunset and there was still no sign of her anywhere, he had to do something about it. It was an automatic response.

He approached Bill, pretending he was more interested with the map than with the skinny-legged girl who borrowed it.

"It's quite late now isn't it? She probably got lost again."

"What?"

"Give her an hour or two," Bill replied. "She'll pop back eventually." Then as an afterthought, he added, "I hope."

An image came into Minho's mind. It was of a petite girl and a lone wolf circling each other in the middle of the Green Patch. He made up his mind. He approached Thomas and told him he was heading back out.

"If somebody comes looking for me tell them I'm working on the maps and I don't want to deal with their shuck faces."

"Are you crazy?" Thomas nearly spat out his barbecue. "But where are you going? Minho!"

An hour later there he was, walking in the woods side by side with Alex. _The _Alex.

'You have no idea, do you?' he thought, giving her another casual backward glance, 'Of the things I'm willing to do for you.'

Of course not. How could she?

'Goddamit, Alexandria.'

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Minho bit his tongue. He didn't know he had said her name out loud. He was glad it was too dim to see the blush creeping up his ears. To save face, he decided to play along.

"Um...how did you end up with those three?" He cursed the way his voice came out more high-pitched than normal.

There was a long pause. He didn't think she would reply and decided he would just let it drop this time.

"Actually, they found me." She bit her lip self-consciously. It wasn't a subject she was too comfortable sharing, not in the confines of a cozy house and most definitely not in the dark and scary woods. Some unknown bird let out a sinister hoot from afar. She picked up her pace. Not knowing that Minho had stopped in his tracks, she ended up crashing face-first on his back.

"Sorry," she whispered quickly. He chuckled and continued as if nothing happened.

"So you were saying they found you," he said. "Was this in Denver?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded, regaining her balance after tripping on a root.

He rolled his eyes impatiently. "What is it with you and vague, brief answers? So you just appeared in their doorstep with your stupid amnesia and your nickname, was that the gist of it?"

"Actually I popped in their backyard wearing a body bag and hole in my chest. The nickname came later."

This shut him up. Images of the attack from nearly two years ago came back to him with a vengeance. There was the ghastly, bloodied sharp metal jutting out of her chest, the electric sensation of not being able to feel anything a few seconds after that and the most haunting image of all, the look of resignation she wore as that beast dragged her away from him. It was as though she had accepted her fate and had given up. He didn't know it at that time but he had yet to forgive her for surrendering like that.

"That was two years ago," she added, breaking the silent spell. "I think. I'm not sure."

He was. That had been twenty two months ago.

With the little bits and pieces of information he obtained, Minho knew well enough that something was off with her situation. Life for the subjects of WICKED didn't happen by coincidence. This only meant one thing. Alex survived because WICKED wanted her to. But why make it look like they had killed her off? And why take her memories away? Minho knew that without more pieces, he will never see the big picture. This goes to show that no matter what they do, the organization was too big a part of them to be able to get rid of it completely. That almost seemed impossible. Thinking about it made Paradise look like a joke.

"Are you alright?" she asked, realizing he had grown quiet.

"Tell me about those three. I'm assuming they were good to you."

Even with her behind him, he knew she was smiling. He could hear it, feel it, everything except see it. He knew her too well.

"They were." By then she had noticed that he wasn't going to be satisfied with phrases for answers so she added, "Bill had been saint-like with his patience for me. Millie was Millie. He used to trust anybody instantly. That first minute we talked he immediately treated me like some old neighbor he had known all his life. It was Cole who was more...challenging to get to know."

"Was he now?" Minho was surprised at this. All those nights he stayed awake, he had imagined Alex getting swept off her feet by smug shuck the first chance she got.

"For weeks he thought I was a Crank, the stupid hypocrite. Oh well, I don't blame him entirely for it. The day I woke up, the first thing I did was hit him across the face with a baseball bat I saw lying around the room."

They both burst out laughing.

_'That's my girl,'_ Minho thought fondly. It seemed like a very Alex thing to do. He was glad to know she still had that fire in her, even if it was at the cost of Cole.

"How about you? What's your story?" She remembered what Clint told her in the infirmary, how they used to be attached to the hip before the Trials and how they still somehow acted like that during her stint in the Maze. She had a feeling he was suggesting something else but she didn't want to take people's word at face value except if it was Minho.

"It's the same as everyone else's I guess," he said. "Woke up in the Box. Stayed in the Glade. Ran the Maze. The Scorch after that. Denver after that. I can't tell you much about how things were before the Box. I didn't get my Swipe reversed before it was taken out."

"Okay," Alex mumbled. "Sounds...generic."

He grinned cheekily at the annoyed look on her face. She didn't give up and continued to prod.

"What was life like back in the Glade?"

_'Worse but better. Sadder but happier.'_

"Different." After a long pause and a bummed look from Alex, he added, "It's another story for some other time, alright? Story time's over." He nodded at the clearing in front of them. Even at a distance, they could see the orange glow of the bonfire in the town center. For both of them, it was as though a spell was broken. They felt the obligation to act like strangers towards each other all over again.

Once they reached the edge of the forest, she spun around and placed her hands on his arms. Their close proximity triggered an itch at the back of her mind, an odd feeling which squeezed painfully at her chest. She couldn't put a name on it.

"Hey," she looked up at him. "Thanks for coming after me. And I'm sorry I can't..."

"...can't what?"

His left hand rose as if to caress her on the cheek. It stopped centimeters away before settling awkwardly on the top of her head.

"Nevermind. Don't mention it," he said.

"Right." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Now. How about you go back in there first. I'll come after you in a few minutes."

"Why?" he asked, confused. "Let's just go together. No need for all that dramatic flair."

"And take another spear in the face? No thanks."

Minho laughed at this. His eyes turned into cute little half moons and she couldn't help but giggle as well.

_'Those dimples are adorable. But never say that out loud okay? You'll die.'_

He went ahead and she stood there, hidden in the shadows of the trees.

"See you in the party Alexandria."

"Just Alex."

He looked back and raised an eyebrow knowingly.

"Oh it's definitely Alexandria," he insisted.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_They're saying the Scorch Trials trailer is coming out today. Hope it comes out before nighttime. Some of us have work to do ya know? *miffed*

Anyhoo, reviews are love everyone.


	13. The One Who Remembers

_**Disclaimer:**_ The Maze Runner still isn't mine. Sorry.

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Ever since they settled down in this new world, Aris Jones had done a good job at blending in the crowd. Not many people knew he was one of the surviving subjects of WICKED. Those who do barely knew where he was most of the time. If he wasn't crouched behind a vegetable crop, he was under a tree teaching a group of children how to read and write.

That day, Thomas found him near the Big Well, talking to one of the girls from Group B. Upon seeing the dark-haired boy, Aris excused himself and went over to his former colleague.

"Hey man," he greeted, clapping Thomas at the back. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"I should tell you the same thing," Thomas retorted. "Where have you been? Minho told me you packed your things and went to become a hermit."

The shorter boy rolled his eyes at this. "The shuckface and his stupid theories." As if on cue, they turned towards the sound of Sonya's laughter. She was perched on the said Runner's lap. The couple seemed to be exchanging jokes with a small group of people sitting around the evening bonfire. The baby-faced former scientist made a disapproving sound. "I'm surprised Alexandria still hasn't tackled them to the ground by now. Or at least bite one of Minho's ear off."

Thomas looked at him in surprise. "Alex? I don't think she cares. She doesn't remember anything." They scanned the crowd for the petite girl and found her talking silently with Lisa, one of the people running the apothecary.

"So you've heard about her?" he continued.

Aris glanced sideways at him. "I may not always be in the thick of things but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. The girls from Group B couldn't stop talking about the three of them." Thomas knew he was referring to the love triangle that Alex didn't know she was in.

"So," he started. "What do you remember about her and Minho?"

There was a short pause before Aris replied, "What do _you _know about her and Minho?"

Thomas looked at Minho first. He was whispering something at the giggling Sonya's ear. Then he looked at Alex who now stood beside Cole. The pair was pointing at the golden couple and chuckling over their public display of affection.

"Not much. But I've seen the girl before. In the headquarters, she was the one who chopped her own hair."

Aris didn't know that. "Did she?"

"I saw her spend a lot of time with Minho in the Glade. They were...they were a couple, weren't they? And we've been watching them even before the Maze."

"One of our major tasks was to determine what makes and breaks each Subject," was Aris' vague reply. "Determining what made and broke Minho had been easy. Even the janitor knew what-or _who_-it was. The trick was how to incorporate Alex in the Trials."

"You make it sound so scientific."

"We were dealing with PET scans and killzone patterns. Of course it was."

Thomas smiled sadly at the girl. She saw him watching her and gave him a small, awkward wave. He waved back. "Subject A47."

"That's right."

The ghost of a feeling he knew so well caressed the hair at the back of his neck. It was guilt.

"I heard you're a fan of Minho and Sonya so I'm not going to comment further on the matter."

Thomas looked at him, his jaw set in determination.

"Tell me everything, Aris."

He gave the prodigy an incredulous look. "Why would I?"

"I...I need to know." It was hard to explain. He was Minho's friend. He had a feeling he knew something before that Minho didn't and that he had to tell him what it was. He owed the broken boy so much and one of them was an apology. Much to his chagrin, he didn't have have half the courage he needed to do it.

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean?"

Aris gave him an unreadable look. "Last time I checked, Alex's death had you begging the Creators to make you forget."

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_ I have to admit I enjoy it more when I write a scene where Minho and Alex are bickering/communicating with each other. And I would've enjoyed it if every chapter had that in it but I wouldn't think it would give the story much substance. Hence I had to come to a compromise. Sigh. Anyhoo. Reviews are love! I know this is a short chapter and Minho/Alex interaction is virtually non-existent but please be patient. And please don't hate Sonya because I happen to like her in this piece. I dunno. I just do.


	14. Remorse

_**Disclaimer: **_I still do not own anything that has got to do w/ TMRS.

* * *

_"Bill's research on his DNA and our extensive study on killzone patterns just about explained him in a nutshell. There are Immunes like the rest of us. And then there are Immunes like you and him and a handful of Subjects in the Trials. He was a goldmine that the entire team didn't know how to get to. He even had Janson pulling at his sideburns during the numerous attempts of trying to crack him. Nobody figured out how to do it except you, Thomas."_

"Thomas what's wrong?" Brenda asked the boy sitting beside her. The Full Moon Party had been going on for hours and he hadn't moved once from his spot on the makeshift bench in front of the fire pit. Worse, he hadn't spoken a word either. All these were enough to tip the sharp girl that something was off.

Thomas shook his head in denial and took another swig of the good stuff or moonshine, as the Denver Munies called it. Brenda gently took his hand and laced it with hers. "You're gonna have to do better than that to convince me." She smiled. He gazed at her soft brown eyes, which were so different from the strength and muscle which made up the rest of her. Right then, he knew he had lost. He couldn't lie to her. He looked around to make sure no one was near enough to hear him before ducking his head towards hers.

"I spoke to Aris earlier." He wasn't sure how to continue. "About Minho and Alex."

On instinct, Brenda's gaze landed on the couple across the pit. They were also seated on one the logs. Sonya was seated on the Runner's lap while he wrapped his arms around her waist. The dark-haired boy peeked behind the blonde, noticing that he was being watched. He stuck his tongue out at Brenda.

"Yeah? What about them?"

"Earlier in the Trials, the Creators planned on terminating Minho because he wasn't giving us enough data."

She looked at him in surprise. She did not expect that. "But I always thought he was-"

"-a top candidate. I know," he cut her. "On par with Rachel as the fourth strongest candidate before she was killed."

"Does he know?"

Thomas' reply was a firm shake of his head. And from the looks of it, it didn't look like he had to. WICKED and the Trials were things they all desperately wanted to put behind them.

"Anyway," he continued. "We needed the data. The only way to do that was to break him." He raked his hand through his hair as Aris' story unraveled the images in his head, memories shaken free from the protective grasp of the Swipe. He didn't know how to put it into words. "That Griever attack those older Gladers knew about? It had been staged all along."

An unusual glint appeared in her eyes as the words began to sink in. She chanced another look at the "broken" Subject. Brenda was many things but she was no fool. It was obvious what Sonya merely was to Minho. Anyone who saw and who remembered how he was around Alex could see that. It was a cruel and ugly truth, which in turn was a ripple effect from an inhumane experience.

"Who could think of doing such a thing?" she whispered.

"Apparently, I had a shucked up way of solving problems back in the days." Thomas locked his gaze on the flames, afraid to look anywhere else. His hands curled into tight fists as his whole body shook, as though he was struggling to keep it from exploding. She had spent enough nights with him to know that when he was being like this, he was struggling with the guilt brought about by his past.

"Look at me Thomas." It was a command. He followed. She continued, "You did what you had to do. And just as well because if you didn't-Thomas listen," she reached up to his face and gently turned it towards the Runner, "If you didn't, that kid wouldn't be here right now. You saved him."

"At what cost?" He remembered the mind-numbing, sanity-shaking pain he felt on seeing Chuck and then Teresa die in front of him. It was a loss so deep that he didn't wish it on anyone. And yet, he had deliberately shoved it at one of his best friends for something as cold as data printed in crisp white paper.

"But she's back, isn't she?" Even Brenda wasn't too sure about this part. "That must mean something right?"

"As far as Aris and I know she isn't supposed to be. That's why I have a feeling Bill knows something we don't." He noticed her giving him a confused look. "Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence? The same man that "adopted" Alex is also the same man who found the Cure. It's too...forced."

Brenda nodded in agreement. "Why don't you ask him?"

"I will. Soon. I owe Minho big time."

* * *

Thomas had always been curious. As a kid, he was the lone child who would dare to ask the questions the rest of the children didn't even think about. Most of time, they just followed instructions wordlessly.

And so Bill wasn't too unfazed when, instead of Minho or even Alex questioning his motives first, it had been the dark-haired boy with the sad eyes who came to confront him. The question had been as simple as it was loaded.

"What are you really doing here?"

Aged steel gray eyes looked at him. Bill knew he already knew. With a sigh, he turned the burner off and put the distillation process of the medicinal herb to a halt.

"Hiding. But you already knew that. Tell me," he motioned for Thomas to take a seat across the table. "What makes you ask something you already know the answer to?"

"I need to make sure my second question makes sense. What are you hiding, Bill?" He was done with mind games. More importantly, he was done with secrets. And now out of nowhere this stranger thought he could waltz in and wreck havoc in the honest world they've struggled to build.

'Really, Thomas?' mocked a voice in his head. 'Some kind of honesty you're fighting for, considering what you did to Newt.'

Bill's reply was too sincere to be a lie. "Millie, first and foremost. Cole too. These are desperate times. Some people _can _go crazy enough to want to crack his head open and study the healing process. Those kids are the only family I have now. I can't have that."

Thomas knew how that felt. His resolve at questioning the former geneticist began to waver. He cleared his throat. "Companies all over the world have publicly announced studies being conducted to find the Cure. You have the real thing and...you want to disappear from the face of the Earth?" He didn't notice how his voice rose with every word. And as it did, echos of that fateful day played in his head again and again.

_"Do it before I become one of them. KILL ME!"_

"Why not?" Bill challenged.

Thomas' calm demeanor disintegrated. The older man jumped as he banged his palms on the wooden desk. "You could've saved people! People who didn't deserve to be put down like animals!" He struggled to contain the tremors that racked his entire body.

_"Please, Tommy. Please." _He wasn't a Crank during his final moments. The blonde had been a sane person who was begging for a way out.

"You could've saved Newt." He didn't bother stopping the tears that came in droves, didn't bother covering his face which was distorted with anguish. After many months of running away from it, he was finally grieving for the loss of his good friend.

Bill's eyes softened in recognition. "Newton," he said. He remembered the Subject. He was one of the non-Munies thrown in the experiment for them to compare the difference of the killzone patterns between the normal population and those that are immune.

"I'm sorry about what happened to him." And he meant it. "But you do know where, or to be more exact, from _who _I extract the Cure from." He watched Thomas rub his eyes dry with the back of his hand. The childish gesture reminded him that the prodigy he had worked with in the past, the mastermind behind the Maze, was very much still a child.

All of them were children.

"Millie is eight. Do you think he has enough blood to cure all the Cranks in this world? People wouldn't think twice of bleeding children like him dry if it meant they'll get immunity from the Flare. Even Munies like us couldn't wait to get their hands on _them_ and sell them at the highest price possible. If word of their locations fall in the wrong hands, it will be a catastrophe. Your generation, every child that perished in the Trials was more than enough of a sacrifice. Ava, Hans and I swore to stop anymore deaths from happening in the name of this _cure_. That's why she contacted you to lead all those Immunes here."

"You knew Ava Paige?" Thomas asked, surprised.

Bill nodded. "And all three of us share the same opinion on the Trials."

"You mentioned children like Millie...are you saying there's more of them out there?" The younger boy couldn't help but feel excited. The Cure was real. It was existing even as they spoke.

Bill chuckled at this. Leave it to Thomas to spoil all the surprises in this world, thanks to his undying curiosity.

"The formation of active antibodies against the Flare was an evolutionary phenomenon. So it wasn't a single freak-of-nature case. Ava's team has discovered a handful of these children all over the world. Of course, you can forget about asking me where the rest of them are. I chose not to know." He gave him an odd look. "I sense more questions. Thomas, you haven't changed at all."

The younger boy rolled his eyes at this. "I wouldn't know," he replied bitterly. "But you're right. I have one more question. Where does Alex fit in all of this? Why is she with you? She was supposed to be killed."

This time it was Bill who was caught off-guard. "I thought you knew."

"Knew what?" Thomas felt his mouth go dry. What shady plans did his old self get into again? There was so many of them already.

"As far as I know, rejects like her wasn't meant to go up the Maze. They wouldn't have survived the Trials. She was put there anyway."

"For a very important reason," he replied. "But that's not the point. How did she get out and how did she end up with you?"

Bill shook his head. He went back to his distillation set and started up the burner. "You and I are no different kiddo. We may possess vital pieces of the puzzle but we have no idea what the big picture looks like." For a long while, they both watched the liquid bubbling inside one of the canisters being heated up.

"I took Alex in as a favor for a friend. Naturally, I assumed you were the ones responsible for getting her out of there." With nimble fingers, he began to chop up more herbs for the extract. "What's it to you now?"

"I figured I owe a good friend a very good explanation for all the shuck I've put him through. First I let him believe his best friend's dead then he sees her waltzing back with no idea who he is. That's messed up."

It sounded like a cheesy plot from a badly-written romance novel that Bill had to laugh out loud at this. It was hard to believe that despite everything that the planet had gone through, ridiculous things like that still happened all over the world. Funnier still was the fact that he was partially involved in one of those cheesy plots.

"Thomas, I have studied those two since they were in the laboratory set up's equivalent of kindergarten. I know them well." He smiled at Thomas and this time it was because of genuine happiness.

"She will get around to remembering him, eventually. After all this is Minho we're talking about."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Hope you guys enjoy this bit. I noticed I received more reviews from the previous chapter than the earlier chapters (I'd be lucky to get three or four revs and thought, 'Meh. People must be losing interest.' And I understand since it's been quite some time since the last movie and TST won't be out 'till September). So yeah. Thanks for that! Will be gone for a couple of days again so I decided to make this one a bit longer to make up for it. Anyways, I will always ALWAYS love reviews. Hope to hear from you soon. =)


	15. Sketches

_**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Minho and Sonya. (shrugs)

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Sonya loved watching Minho sketch. Doing it turned him in to a different person. Gone was the cocky teenager with the sharp tongue and in his wake was a stranger of few words, uttering only the most necessary phrases. The amount of focus he put in his work impressed her. However, it was the details in these sketches that blew her away, considering he did all of them by memory.

A few months ago, she asked him once if she could have a look at them. He was preparing for another one of his early morning jogs. She was sitting on his bed, his sheets bundled over her torso as she tried to recall where he chucked her clothes last night.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Make sure you put them away after."

"Yessir cap'n Minho."

She squealed when he wrestled her and tickled her neck with his tongue.

Once he was gone she opened the bound book and went over the sketches one by one. Most of it were candid images of the people of Paradise. There was one of Gally managing a construction site. The next one was of Brenda handing over a slimy newborn baby to his mother. The baby's umbilical cord showed through the blanket it was wrapped it. There was also one of her and Harriet with their frozen laughter. The rest were pictures of the village without its inhabitants and views of it from somewhere elevated. After seeing the final sketch, she closed the book and smiled. It was a side of him that not many people knew about. The thought that he allowed her to see this part of him made her proud.

When she was finished with them, she walked across the room to put it in the wooden box under the window. Upon removing its rough lid she was surprised to find more sketches in there, lying amidst scattered lumps of sharpened charcoal. These were done in loose paper. However, she could tell from the pages' rough quality that these papers were made here in Paradise. He did these sketches just recently. Curiosity got the better of her and she took them out for a closer look.

All of them were images from the Glade. Most were of the boys working together, building things and planting crops. There were solos of Ben and Newt, both of whom looked older than the kids she remembered growing up with in WICKED's headquarters. There were drawings of the Maze from a Runner's point of view and of a chubby boy fast asleep on a hammock while Gally and Winston wrestled at a distance. There was one sketch which showed three boys sitting on a picnic table. She recognized one of them as Jeff. The one in the middle was a curly-haired boy who was stuffing food in his mouth. The one of the far right had choppy hair with the fringe tied up and away from his eyes.

_'What an odd bunch,'_ she thought. She went over to the next sketch and there was the three of them again. Jeff and the other boy were laughing. The one with the tied up fringe was looking straight at her with his tongue sticking out as though mocking her. She couldn't help but think that she had seen him somewhere. But she couldn't remember when.

As she went through more of his works, the fringed boy kept popping up every now and then. There was one of him crouched between two cooking stoves, seemingly asleep. Another picture was of him running. The next was of him talking animatedly to Alby. The last sketch, which she thought was the first one he did since it was at the very bottom of the box showed a close up of the boy. He had a fond smile on his face and his right hand was reaching over to the edge of the page, as though to caress her. She studied the soft angles of his face. The cat-like shape of the outer corners of his eyes. The small nose and the tight-lipped smile.

Sonya bit her lip in thought. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought this Glader was a girl.

Fast track to the present. Minho fell asleep while sketching her. Sonya had learned earlier in their relationship that the boy slept like a rock. So she let him be. She gave him a soft peck on the forehead and watched when he replied by mumbling unintelligibly.

"Dork," she teased. He had rolled over and ended up lying on his sketch pad. Curious as to how far he had done, she pulled it underneath him and took a closer look. She saw her unfinished reflection looking back at her. Then she noticed the details. The soft angles of her face. The way the shape of the outer corner of her eyes emphasized her long lashes. The delicate curve of her lips against her toothy grin. A memory came to mind. Bright hazel eyes landed on the wooden box underneath the window.

It dawned on her who the Glader in the first sketch was. It was the _female_ Glader. That night a bitter truth made itself known to her.

Alex had been haunting them longer than she thought.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_ A short one that just had to be put out there. I know in the series Dashner never emphasized that Minho was good at sketching but I remember quite vaguely a moment in the first book where the cheeky Runner kept on nagging Thomas about the details of his sketch of the Maze. Looks to me like our boy has a keen attention to details and he looks like the type who has no problem putting these details on paper. I think.

So...whattdayathink? Lemme know by reviewing. See ya!


	16. Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine

_**Disclaimer: **_I still do not own anything.

* * *

Despite being world-class geniuses who held reputable positions in their new community, the children of WICKED were still, well, children. During the years they had spent inside the top-secret facility, they became deprived of the many joys of childhood. This gave them a natural inclination to regress and engage in activities many would consider childish.

That night, Isabel, the second-in-command of the kitchens, suggested to Harriet that they play Truth or Dare. Harriet had the mechanics explained to her in great detail then got so excited that she managed to round up every teenager in Paradise in the town center to play the game. Even the elusive Aris, the taciturn Thomas, and the arrogant Minho was "persuaded" to participate. Gally skipped the game to cover for Leo during the guard rounds since the latter was more than eager to join. It was mostly because he had a thing for the young lady with the afro. Alex tried to take a raincheck by saying she promised to keep Millie company for the night.

"For goodness' sake, Alexandria!" Cole moaned, using her newly-discovered full name for emphasis. "You make it sound like the kid's still in diapers. Have fun for once."

Alex was lying of course. Millie was fine as long as he had a book with him and he could read himself into a coma for all she cared. As if on cue, the eight-year old's head popped out from the window.

"Cole's right, _Alexandria_," he mocked. "Don't be a bore. Go. Shoo!"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Next week, I'm going to drain you from your eyeball," she replied through gritted teeth.

She heard a muffled "Make me" before she begrudgingly made her way to the group of teenagers sitting in a circle and took a seat between Brenda and Frypan, just near enough from Minho and Sonya that she didn't have to sit right in front of the touchy-feely couple. The Cook handed her a jar of amber liquid which, when she took a whiff of it, smelled like bread.

"What is this thing?" She took a swig and instantly regretted it. In between chocking sounds and chesty coughs she swore she would never touch the vile thing ever again. Frypan merely rolled his eyes.

"Nice try shank but I know what you're capable of," he replied. "Now be a good sport and finish the shuck thing."

"Shut up guys!" Harriet interjected. "Let's start shall we?"

She took an empty bottle and placed it in the center of the circle. A flick of her wrist later, everyone watched silently as it spun freely, slowing down to point at a gaping Leo.

Harriet's dark eyes danced with excitement. "Alright Stick. Truth or Dare?"

* * *

The whole game fell apart into mischievous entertainment.

Leo kissed Harriet. Frypan admitted to fancying Isabel. Isabel gave Frypan a lapdance. Harriet kissed Leo back. Sonya finished an entire jar of the good stuff upside down. Thomas sang, which was interrupted by Brenda.

"S'okay baby. I love you now shut up," she pulled him down and hugged him tightly.

A couple of spins later, the bottle mouth stopped in front of Cole.

"Truth or dare Cole," Harriet slurred. Her eyelids have drooped and everyone noticed her leaning to Leo too often for it to be a coincidence.

"Harriet, can I ask the question if he picks truth?" Brenda asked. The sixteen-year old shrugged and rested her afro back on the guard's shoulder. Cole got the message.

"Alright then. Truth."

The pixie-haired girl poked her tongue in her cheek, building up the suspense before dropping the bomb. "Have you kissed Alex?"

Wolf whistles and cat calls filled the air. Even Minho couldn't hide his curiosity and whipped his head to look Cole. Alex was too busy tipping the contents of an entire jar down her throat to react immediately. After she was done, she smacked her lips a couple of times and looked at Brenda. "Sorry, did you ask me something?"

"No," she replied without as much as a sideway glance.

"Oh."

Cole looked at everyone around him. His sharp blue eyes studied each face. It was then that he realized that they've been suspecting him of being in a relationship with the dark-haired herbalist. "Alex, did you hear that?" he threw a playful glance at the green-eyed girl.

"Hear what now?" she mumbled, taking another jarful from Frypan.

"Brenda wants to know if we've kissed."

Alex paused halfway through bringing the jar up to her lips. With the bright light emanating from the bonfire, there was no mistaking the blush creeping up to her face.

Cole shrugged and replied cockily, "Yes. A few times. For experimental purposes."

Alex's jaw dropped like it was made of lead. The group erupted in giddy cheers and howls. Green eyes glared at the smug-looking boy so menacingly that if looks could kill, he would have died three times over.

"You. Little. Fuck," she mouthed at him.

"When was the most recent one?" Brenda turned to Alex who was again left gaping like a fish.

"Don't answer her sweetheart," Cole warned. "That's not how the game works." He gave her a wink before turning to look at Minho whose grimace was half-hidden behind a jar of the good stuff. He found it hard to determine whether or not he heard everything he just said. He caught Sonya glaring at him and gave her a wink as well.

"So you're a couple?" one of girls asked excitedly.

"No!" Alex and Cole chorused. This knocked the crowd's enthusiasm down a few notches.

"Don't be crass."

"You say it like I'm _that _terrible."

"You are."

"Don't be so picky. You're not that hot."

On and on the bickering continued until Harriet hollered, "Alright. Story time's over. Keep calm and carry on."

Alex was beyond mortified. True, she might have experimented with Cole in the past when they both thought they were going to die in the middle of the Scorch. But it wasn't something she wanted to share with others over a cup of anything, much less in a stupid game complete with drunk teenagers and a roaring bonfire. That phase was over now. Cole and her had been clear with that. No matter how much they pushed it, it wasn't something they could work out. She was snapped out of her miserable thoughts when Minho's name was called out. The Runner, who had grown silent throughout the game, raised his eyebrow in response. Sonya buried her nose in his neck, which for some reason Alex didn't know, and would later blame on intoxication, didn't rub her right. A fleeting thought involving dumping her drink over Sonya's strawberry-colored hair crossed her mind and she guiltily crushed it down and kicked it at the side.

'_Stop it, you idiot_.'

"You know the drill, lead navigator," Harriet slurred. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare of course," Minho replied and threw Cole a dirty look. "I'm not stupid."

"Right," Brenda piped in. "Can I call the shots again Harr?" The leader of Group B was too busy giggling over something Leo just said to hear her. She continued, "I'm sure your lovely baby doll Sonya is a sport and she's smart enough to know this is just a game." Upon mentioning this, the couple straightened themselves up, intrigued at where Harriet was leading at.

"Minho my dear, I dare you to kiss any girl in this circle for one full minute. Doesn't matter who. Just pick one and get it over with."

Thomas, Frypan and Leo swore simultaneously. The rest of the group braced themselves in anticipation. Many of them knew that Minho may be dating one girl but had a rather colorful history with another. It wasn't exactly a well-kept secret. Even Alex went stiff. And why shouldn't she? Her heart jumpstarted with such speed that she found herself short of breath.

_'For Pete's sake, get a grip. It's not going to be you. What the hell are you getting worked up for?'_ she reminded herself. It was hopeless though. Her guts felt like livewire jumping all over the place.

"Relax babe. It's not going to be me," Brenda whispered at Thomas' ear. The younger boy glared at her. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to start a fistfight with the guy."

"Aaw," she cooed. "Trust me, sexy."

Minho was caught off-guard. For a few terrifying seconds he had no idea what to do. Brenda was too sneaky not to do anything without an agenda but his alcohol-logged brain was too inebriated to work out what it was.

_Doesn't matter who. Just pick one._

Of course it mattered. His gaze landed on Alex who looked back at him like a deer caught in the headlights. A stream of unwanted images flooded his mind's eye. He had to hold his breath to keep his temper in check.

_"I don't know who you are."_

_"They're my family now."_

_"You guys seemed to have moved on just fine without me so I'm guessing I don't have anything to worry about."_

'She's right,' he thought miserably. 'She didn't have anything to worry about.' An angry voice roared back at him. 'Neither do you!'

With all the strength he could muster, he stretched his lips into a thin smile. "That's a no-brainer."

"Is it?" Brenda shot back.

Everyone oohed and aahed at the full-blown makeout session between Minho and Sonya. Admittedly, it got most of them hot and bothered. Halfway through the passionate kiss, he dove for Sonya's neck which brought out a giggly moan from her.

"Get a room!" Frypan snapped, causing everyone to laugh nervously. Brenda looked at them with her arms crossed over chest and an unreadable expression on her face.

"Alright you lust bunnies. Session's over in ten, night, eight..." Everyone else joined in the countdown.

"Three! Two! One!"

The couple broke apart gasping for air. Minho grinned as he rested his forehead against that of the beautiful girl in front of him.

"I love you," she whispered. He replied with a peck on her full lips. He faced the group and was greeted with pats in the back. Cole shook his head, throwing a defeated look at Brenda. She answered with a helpless shrug.

Minho counted thirty seconds before braving a look at Alex's direction. What he saw made him regret his decision instantly.

Alex forgot how to breathe. She didn't think it was possible, even laughed at the lines "forgot how to breathe" whenever she stumbled on it in a random book she could get her hands on. Breathing was an instinct, after all. You don't forget your instincts.

And so it puzzled her to no end when her lungs refused to cooperate while she was watching the duo have a go at it. The moment her hands planted on his waist it was as though someone closed his grip over her throat and she couldn't decide whether she was choking or throwing up. Oxygen had completely abandoned her and everything was turning white. When the kiss was over, her lungs restarted. She gulped in air, still in shock with both what she saw and what she felt.

Through the cheers and claps she saw him look at her. She wanted to look away, knowing he could see the obvious hurt in her face. She could tell he saw it, wanted desperately to cover it up with a look of nonchalance and even disgust but she was too weak, and hurt, and miserable to do anything about it.

Nothing made sense. He wasn't her boyfriend after all. He could do whatever he wanted and she wouldn't have a say over it at all. Even so, the rush of blood in her eardrums continued. Its rhythmic pounding sounded like one word repeating itself over and over again, terrifying her just as much as it confused her.

_Mine, mine, mine, mine._

* * *

Sometime during the game, Alex wobbled out of the group for a bathroom break and never came back. And as everybody agreed to call it a night and went into their respective cabins, Minho could hear Cole asking around if they have seen the short girl. Nobody did.

"She's probably had enough of our bullshit and stalked off somewhere," Brenda replied, giving Minho a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. Thomas grabbed her hand and led her to the cabin.

"Leave them alone, Bren."

Minho turned to Sonya. "Listen, I need to go and get something in the Council Room. I'll meet you in my place, alright?" Without waiting for an answer, he made his way back into the town center with only the light of the full moon to guide his path. As he actively searched the place of anything Alex-shaped, a memory came to mind. It was from a conversation he had with her, a different lifetime ago it seemed.

_"Don't ever do that again."_

_"What, pee?"_

_"Leave my bed in a mess. Pull a disappearing act on everybody."_

The Maze had given him many things to be fearful about but none of them paralyzed his mind the way seeing that empty bed did after having that nightmare that she had died. It was a nightmare that he had prayed wouldn't turn into a reality and it did.

'One of those unanswered prayers,' he thought wryly. Then he added, 'What is it with her and disappearing acts anyway?'

With Alex, vanishing almost seemed like a talent.

"I keep having thoughts of hitting someone in the face. It's not very nice, I know." Her voice echoed from a distance. He followed the garble of the conversation until he reached the kitchens. Alex was perched on one of the chopping tables, her legs dangling in the air. Cole held her by the shoulders to keep her from falling over.

"Good judgement," Cole replied flatly. Minho however, could see his amused grin as he looked at her. He found a hiding spot in the shadows and listened shamelessly at their candid exchange.

"Cole?" she drawled.

"Yes dear?"

"I think I have anger issues."

"Of course not. It's normal to feel that way." He slowly let go of Alex's shoulders. She titled heavily on the right and he had to pull her to sit straight again.

"I could totally kiss better than that."

"Maybe. But she's hotter."

She hissed at this. "Fine. I think I hate this night. Any thoughts?"

"Nope."

"I can't walk anymore." She tilted her head to one side and closed one eye shut. "The world's spinning too fast. Oh my God..."

"You're just saying that to hitch a free ride from me," Cole laughed.

The familiar curtain of numbness fell over Minho as he watched the blue-eyed boy carry Alex on his back. He watched in morbid fascination, following them silently as they made their way to the cabins. Every once in a while Cole would pause to tap her leg.

"Wake up, Princess. Almost there."

They reached the clearing unaware of their lone observer. Cole put her on the ground. Not long after, both burst out laughing when Alex nearly face-planted on the ground. She reached out to cup his face with her hands.

Minho felt his heart hammering on his throat, cursing inwardly as to why he didn't get drunk enough to stop caring. He wanted to look away but he couldn't.

With her back facing her former lover, Alex traced Cole's lips with her fingertips. One hand ran through his hair. From where he stood Minho could only see Cole's face. Even from afar he could see the glint in his eyes. He knew that look. It was the look of someone who wanted to be kissed. An icy grip rested on his chest.

_'It was going to happen. She was going to kiss her. Again.'_

But as soon as the tension built up it was gone. Alex shook her head before toddling her way into the wooden cabin, holding on to its walls for support. As soon as she disappeared inside, Cole let out a whoosh of air, tilting his face to the skies above.

He spotted Minho emerging from the shadows. Cole smirked at the look of terror on his face.

"If I had known you were watching us I would've kissed her," he said matter-of-factly. When Minho didn't reply with anything but a sideway glance he added, "You said you weren't stupid. And you know, I almost believed you. But come on, we both know you made the wrong choice back there." After one last nod, Cole went inside the cabin, leaving the Runner to deal with his own thoughts. The images played in his mind in an endless loop. Alex tracing someone else's lips, running her hand through someone else's hair, smiling lovingly at someone that wasn't him.

Blood pounded in his eardrums, chanting that one word that came to mind whenever he thought of the green-eyed girl, even before he found out she was alive.

_Mine, mine, mine, mine._

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_** *shrugs* Just finished watching Insidious 3 and I still have that feeling a detached hand would poke me in the head any time now. So that's all I can think about right now. Anyhoo...reviews are love.


	17. That Dead Boy

_**Disclaimer: TMRS**_ is not mine.

* * *

She dreamt of the dead boy again. This time though, it wasn't about her memory of him sprawled on the filthy streets of Denver. The dream started with her lying on a cold, ivy-strewn floor. As she sat up, she realized that she was in a long and wide corridor. Up ahead she could see numerous turns on either sides of the place. Each of them led to places which looked dark and sinister. A chill crept down the middle of her back.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"In the Maze," an unfamiliar voice replied, making her jump in surprise. She quickly spun around to see a figure standing behind her. He was leaning against the wall with his arms across his chest.

It was the dead kid. She stared at him in shock as he lazily pushed himself off the wall, taking a few steps forward before sitting down, cross-legged in front of her.

"Long time no see, Greenie," he drawled with a heavy English accent. His voice would break in unexpected parts of the short sentence, making him sound as young as he looked.

"But you're dead." It wasn't very polite but it was the only coherent thought she could muster.

"Obviously," he chuckled, rolling his eyes. Another question spilled out hf her mouth before she could stop it, the way queries usually do in dreams.

"Who killed you?"

He shrugged. "You couldn't possibly know that, can you?"

She couldn't resist it. She brushed the fringe of wavy blonde hair away from his forehead. Alex expected to find a gaping hole on it. Instead, the pad of her thumb ran across clear, pale skin.

"Odd." She let her hand drop at her side and looked up at the dark and menacing walls. "What are we doing here?"

The boy sighed and looked around the place, as though he had resigned himself with their predicament.

"We're trapped here for the moment," he replied. An uneasy feeling gripped at the pit of her stomach upon hearing this.

"We need to get help," she said, mostly to herself. As if on cue, two more boys appeared on her right. She wasn't surprised by their sudden emergence anymore. Her dream-self had already considered the occurrence normal after seeing it happen with the blonde boy.

"No one's coming this time, Alex," One of the new boys said. He had dark skin and short hair. His sleeveless shirt revealed lean, well-muscled arms. The second boy just smiled at her.

"You need to figure this one out by yourself. Find your own way out."

"_My_ way out?" she questioned. "Aren't you shanks coming?"

The blonde shook his head. "Like what Anton just said, you're on your own with this."

A loud scream erupted from the inside of her skull, making her cry out in pain.

"ALEX!"

* * *

The seventeen-year old sat up on her mattress, drenched in cold sweat. One hand clutched tightly on her chest, which throbbed with something akin to pain but fainter and more distant.

'What the hell was that?' she thought. It was bad enough that she was dreaming about strangers. What disturbed her was the guy shouting in the last part of her dream. She could hear pure terror in it, making her want to jump out of her own skin.

The faint throbbing was still there. Frowning, she put her right hand under her shirt and ran her fingers over the scar on her chest. It was on the left side, right below her collarbone where she thought her heart should be. It was round and raised against her skin. On its edges were rough bumps where Bill told her the staples were placed to stop the wound from ripping open. She only had one chance to look at the metal wires digging into her skin before passing out again. By the time she came around Bill had removed them.

She sighed deeply to try to soothe the pain. Alex was no stranger to scars. And they never bothered her too much. There were always more pressing matters to worry about. But every once in a while this particular one made her wonder. How did she get it? Was this some sort of punishment for some unforgivable mistake? Perhaps the screaming stranger in the dream knew how she got it.

Right.

She brushed the illogical thought away.

"Hey. You awake?" Millie called out in the inky darkness.

"Nah, just sleeptalking," she chuckled. "Come here."

A few seconds later, she felt him crawl on her mattress and settle down on her left. She lied back down as well. As their bleary eyes adjusted, they started to make out each others' faint outlines.

"What happened at the Truth or Dare?" the younger boy asked.

She shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "Just talking. Lots of it. And then there's moonshine, which is this really bitter drink that drives people out of their minds. More talking."

She skipped the grittier parts of the night in an attempt to protect Millie's innocence.

"Were you upset?" he asked again.

"No," she shook her head, immediately regretting her decision as the beginning of a headache crept up her forehead. "But I think I am now. That stuff was lethal," she groaned.

"Really? Because when you came here I could hear you crying."

There was a long pause. Millie lifted his head to look at her, waiting for an answer.

"Ha. I don't remember doing that."

"But you were. Was there anything bothering you?"

Alex racked her dodgy memory of the events from a couple of hours ago. Most of the things she remembered consisted of taking drinks from the shiny-faced Frypan. Then a bit of chatting with Brenda. There was the part with Cole which ticked her off, though not enough to drive her to tears. There was Minho and Sonya...

Minho and Sonya?

Images of the steamy dare came to mind. She could almost see it again, how flushed they both became after doing it, the look Minho gave her after that. She felt her stomach churn uncomfortably.

"I got nothing Mills. Sorry."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. Go back to sleep."

* * *

_"There are two types of tired,_

_I suppose one is a dire need of sleep_

_the other is a dire need of peace."_

-Mandeq Ahmed

_**Author's Note: **_This one took forever. I know. And it's short. I know. Hope you like it anyway. Reviews are love.


	18. Accidents and Revelations

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own TMRS.

* * *

When the Sun Flares ravaged most of the planet's parts, many of its flora and fauna vanished. Now, many years later, the Earth's crust has healed itself well enough to have patches of fertile land where vegetation could start growing yet again. One of those plants was the poison ivy. Brenda's certainty of its return was all thanks to Minho and Thomas. The two navigators came back from a long day's run covered with rashes and blisters from its poison.

"What-" she spluttered, feeling more than a little annoyed. "Where did you..._how_?"

"It's poison ivy," Thomas replied miserably. "He fell on the bunch of it first and I tripped on him after that." He glared at the ruffled boy beside him who was scratching at his neck with manic gusto.

"Seriously-" Brenda started again but was interrupted by Minho.

"Just give us something for the god-awful rashes alright?" he spat. "You think we look annoying? Try _being_ us right now while the poison's still working. This day couldn't get any worse."

The medic's thin eyebrow rose up at this statement. _'Is that right?'_

* * *

Several minutes later Alex burst into the room with a satchel bag strapped across her chest. The two bickering boys immediately fell into tensed silence from where they sat on top of the medicating table. The herbalist, upon seeing who the medications she was delivering were for, almost ran back out of the door.

"Alexandria! There you are," Brenda chirped, sounding many times happier than she did just minutes ago. She sauntered across the room and placed an arm over the shoulders of the smaller girl.

"You look good today," she added, prompting Alex to give her a confused look. She looked down at her clothes. The shirt and jeans ensemble didn't look any different from her usual outfit.

"Thanks. Must be because of the free facial I got while extracting those plant oils."

Brenda rolled her eyes upwards. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Did you get those things I asked for?"

"Oh!" Alex quickly rummaged through her bag and produced two identical tubs which were roughly the size of her palm. "One anti-itch cream for each of 'em."

"Lovely," the pixie-haired girl replied. She took one jar and made her way towards Thomas.

"Give me a hand, will you? I'll do Thomas and you do Minho."

All eyes trained on Brenda who went on opening the tub seemingly unaware of all the attention.

"Pa-pardon?" Alex stuttered. _'Do Minho?' _She threw a cautious look at the dark-haired boy who gulped loudly, suddenly feeling self-conscious of how gross he looked.

"But um...I got work to do," the herbalist mumbled.

Thomas gave his girlfriend a few soft kicks in the shin until she looked at him. Then he gave her a pointed look as though asking, _'What the shuck are you doing?'_

She winked at him before turning to give the other girl the best puppy look she could muster. "Please. Just for ten minutes. I mean, I can't look after these two shanks at the same time. You just have to _cream_ him-"

"-just have to what now?"

"Oh my God," Thomas ducked down, feeling embarrassed in behalf of Brenda.

"Where does she get these things?" Minho muttered, feeling his ears heat up.

Alex was starting to break into a sweat. Clint was with Millie. She had no other decent excuse and Brenda was never letting her get away from this. Minho noticed her discomfort and remembered their conversation in the woods.

_'I'm not taking another spear in the face,'_ she had said.

So, even though a part of him protested, he decided to give her a way out.

"I'll do it myself," he said. "It's just cream. Nothing I can't handle."

He reached for the small tub but Alex moved it away from him.

"Take off your clothes first," she said. Minho choked on his own spit. Brenda let out a maniacal laugh. Alex felt her eyes water with humiliation. "I mean wash yourself first!" she added quickly. "Wash yourself first before you apply it or it'll be useless, you see." She ran a shaking hand over her flushed face.

_'What the hell am I saying?'_ she thought.

Maybe it was because Minho fell on more ivy than Thomas. Or maybe it was because he reacted more strongly to the irritant than the other boy. Either way, all three knew Minho couldn't be left treating himself the minute he took off his shirt. His entire torso looked like someone had thrown boiling water on it. Most of the blisters have popped creating weeping sores on his back and chest.

"That's messed up, shank," Thomas said, gagging. Without another word, Alex put on a pair of leather gloves and took the taller boy by the wrist. She dragged him towards the washing stalls and pushed him into one of the cubicles.

"You um...you need to wash yourself. Now," she instructed. Minho raised an eyebrow as an idea came to mind. He placed one elbow against the stall's entrance and leaned against it, trying to look as sexy as he could given his current condition.

"You gonna give me a hand with that or what?" he asked in the lowest voice he could muster. Alex's face went from confused to surprised to mortified in under two seconds. He couldn't stop laughing out loud even as she gave him a rough shove and slammed the door close on his face.

"Hurry up you pervert!"

Several minutes later, all four of them were back in the clinic. Both boys were still dripping wet from their impromptu wash when Brenda and Alex started working on their blisters.

"I'm surprised you're not howling in pain by now," Alex commented. She gently tapped cream on a cluster of small blisters on the side of Minho's neck, making him shiver involuntarily.

"I've had worse things than a couple of blisers," he replied smugly, all the while trying to keep his composure. Inside though, having her that close to him and touching him made the Runner want to bounce all over the place. Memories of all those moments they spent alone in the Glade punched him in the gut with every touch she gave.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like lightning."

She paused with her fingers hovering over his skin and gave him a look of disbelief.

"No."

Minho chuckled and merely shrugged. Alex bit her lip, bothered by how..._attractive_ the dark-haired boy look with those dimples.

'Get it together, Alex. He's cute. I get it. Now get over it.'

"So we've been wondering," Brenda's voice broke through their little bubble, "What's the deal with you and Cole?"

If looks could kill, the nurse would have died twice by then. She responded to Minho's death glare with a wink. Alex shrugged and continued tending the blisters in front of her. "What do you mean exactly?"

"Are you sure you're not a couple?" Thomas asked, unable to stop his curiosity any longer.

"What?" Minho and Alex spat out simultaneously.

"Oh don't give me that crap Minho," Brenda chastised. "I know you want to know about it as much as we do."

The navigator sighed in defeat. They knew him too well. True, the thought of Alex being with someone else drove him crazy. Heck, seeing her talk with the other Gladers in the past made him lose his appetite, which was definitely saying something. Still, a little masochistic part of him couldn't help but wonder. It was a very insistent part of him and he had no choice but to stay put and give it what it wanted. He was bracing himself for a meltdown any second.

"Answer the question shuckface," he said, glaring at Alex. The green-eyed girl gave him a funny look.

"We're not a couple for the record."

"Then why did you kiss him?" Brenda interrogated further, stepping away from Thomas and towards her. "You don't just go around kissing people unless they mean something to you, right?"

'Ouch,' Minho thought wryly. He still couldn't figure out what Brenda was up to but a sick kind of curiosity prompted him to play along.

Alex sighed and fumbled with the tub in her hands.

"It just felt like we, I dunno, owed it to ourselves to give it a shot," she explained. "We were in the middle of the goddamed Scorch. It was stressful and lonely. We thought we were goners." Then she added as an afterthought, "And I think we might have been dehydrated as well, which made things more desperate. So we kissed a few times. End of story."

"That's all that happened. Promise?" Brenda asked, sounding like a little girl. The herbalist giggled.

"Yeah. It didn't feel right being with Cole that way. He felt the same way so we just stayed at being friends. Just 'cause you do_ it_ doesn't mean everybody does it you know."

"Is he gay?" Minho asked. Annoyed, Alex rubbed a blister harder than she ought to causing the top layer of the skin to separate from the skin underneath. The Runner merely flinched.

"He's _not_. You might wanna keep an eye on your girlfriend. He digs her."

Minho didn't hear her. He was giving Thomas and Brenda a smug look. "Didn't feel right, she said."

"You look unusually cheerful for someone who just fell on a heap of poison ivy," Alex commented.

'You have no idea,' he thought inwardly. He was more than just cheerful. He was flooded with relief.

* * *

That night, Brenda and a blister-donning Thomas had an argument. Thomas could tell she was trying to push the Runner towards the former Med-jack and he didn't like it . He knew it wasn't right, knowing Minho was with Sonya. Brenda knew she as on the "wrong side" of the argument and was getting more and more irritated at the way the younger boy was rubbing it in.

"If it's as petty as you say it is then it shouldn't be a problem should it?" she shot back defensively.

"I never said it was petty," Thomas replied. He paced across the clinic's room and sat on the windowsill. "You and I both know how those two feel towards each other. Well, I'm sure with Minho. I'm not sure if she-"

"Oh she has the feels for him. I can tell." Brenda cut in.

"But that doesn't _mean_ we should conspire to get them together Bren. Sonya's your friend too."

The dark-eyed girl shrugged and sighed heavily, admitting defeat. "Fine," she mumbled.

"Why are you so bent on pushing them towards each other anyway?" Thomas asked. "Were you and Alex friends before the Swipe?" As far as he could remember, the two were acquaintances at best. Both were medics back in WICKED after all. Then again, he could have missed something.

Brenda shook her head. "I knew her from the medical trainings. She'd been with WICKED longer than me so she was already a couple of levels ahead when I started out. Because of that we would often get paired together in some sessions. She was my mentor of sorts."

Thomas cocked his head to one side in wonder. "So what is it?"

She had a far look in her eyes, as though she was replaying the past in her mind. A nostalgic smile graced her lips.

"Thomas, you don't remember them the way I do."

"And what way was that?"

She remembered the way Alex's entire face would light up when she saw Minho by the training room's entrance waiting for her. He never smiled back but the twinkle in his eyes was enough for her to know that he was just as glad. The boy laughed easily with other kids. With Alex, he acted sterner, as though her very presence annoyed the heck out of him. Brenda wasn't fooled. He let Alex play with his hair and tug the sides of his cheeks into a contorted smile. Any kid doing that would lose a tooth or two. He let her do it because he liked it. He liked her and being with her. Why else would he scout her so often in a sea of white-clad children? She remembered many more instances between the two. All of them had one thing in common.

"They were happy. As happy as anyone in this world and time could be. And I sort of wanted to see that again."

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** I know Brenda isn't all RIGHT in this bit. But she strikes me that way. Once she makes up her mind that she prefers one thing over another she sticks to it. *shrugs* Reviews are always welcome.


	19. Pretty Ones

_**Disclaimer: **_In a not-so-surprising turn of events, I still do not own TMRS.

* * *

Despite Paradise's small population, it was home to "many pretty creatures" as Cole put it. To name a few, there was Isabel. Alex had heard many times from her testosterone-driven housemate that the cook had the typical girl-next-door look. She couldn't wrap her head around the concept. The last time she saw a girl on a wreckage beside their house in Denver, the poor thing had a face full of sores and a portion of her scalp was missing. Isabel was a million times prettier than that abomination, with her blonde hair and big blue eyes. Plus she can cook. No wonder Frypan was blatantly, unabashedly head-over-heels for her.

And then there was Harriet. Her bouncing afro was a story of its own. Alex couldn't get over how much it matched her soft eyes and full lips. Cole told her once that the girl had curves in all the right places.

"How do you know? She always has at least three layers of clothes on," Alex challenged. Cole had a small smile on his face when he replied, "Wanna bet?"

A couple of days later, Harriet went out of her cabin wearing a camisole top and a pair of jeans with the legs cut off at knee length. Alex had never seen the dark-haired former Crank look as smug as he did that day. And as consequence, she had to put a patch on the holes of his stinky trainers.

And who could forget Sonya. Cole sure didn't. If he wasn't narrating to the herbalist how ethereally beautiful the _bombshell_ was, he was comparing her to the blonde's crazy figure. Alex couldn't deny it. Against the leggy blonde, she lagged behind by many points in the beauty department. Her body adapted to the harsh environment by becoming more compact. Everything about her, save for her voice, was small. Sonya, on the other hand, looked like what those older Immunes referred to as a "runway model". From the way those middle-aged men shook their heads every time she passed by them, Alex could tell it was a compliment.

"I don't get it. How can she run _and_ look like a porcelain doll?" Alex mumbled to herself as she watched her and Minho run side by side one early morning. "In fact, how does she manage to look like that in this post apocalyptic world? It's not fair."

She had run for dear life on many occasions and when she looked back at each of those instances, she always thought she looked like crap. Millie dragged himself across the room and rested his chin on the window sill.

"Beats me Alex," he sighed. "But I'm telling you that girl is _hot_."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Hey. Do you have a crush on her as well?"

"Me and a dozen other boys." The young 'Savior of the planet' gave her a sideway glance. "Are you jealous?"

_'Dammit Millie.'_

"Of course not." After a long pause, she added, "A little. Now that she has stolen the heart of my baby boy as well."

It was a lie of course. She was very jealous, although they would have to break all her fingers first and get her fatally drunk before she would admit this out loud. The truth was she wasn't used to it. For as long as she could remember she had been surrounded by men and boys. All the attention they had reserved for the female species was given to her. Now that they lived in a place riddled with pretty girls, that attention was reduced to a strictly platonic and at times even brotherly one.

Was there something wrong with her? Was she not pretty?

She would feel ashamed that such thoughts would even cross her mind. The world was on the verge of dying from the Scorch. Armed men were after the Cure. Her real identity was as good as gone and there she was moaning because boys don't see her that way.

_'Seriously, Alex. Don't be so full of yourself,'_ she chastised the petulant girl inside her.

That night, as she toweled herself dry after a bath, she looked down on her body, at the knobby knees, the chicken legs, the narrow waist, the small breasts. She put on her own camisole and tried fixing her junk underneath it to form a decent cleavage. The act vaguely reminded her of fluffing pillows, which made her laugh a little.

_'Well...you have that. And more.'_

She ran her index finger on the scar on the left side of her chest. It was round and it protruded from her skin as though she had been branded there. Begrudgingly, she took one of Millie's bigger shirts and quickly put it on to cover the gnarly eyesore.

* * *

Minho and Sonya had another row yet again. These seemed to happen quite often these past couple of days. And so as decreed by some chivalrous loser hundreds of years ago, Minho was ousted from their usual spot in the dining area for the time being to be replaced by Sonya's chatty friends.

All the other seats were taken. He spotted the eight-year old on the ground leaning against a fallen log a few yards away from the crowd. He approached him and sat on his left, picking on his bowl of dinner to start eating.

"You two fighting again?" asked Millie, peeking at the Runner behind thick glasses.

"You're a nosy shuck," Minho mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"I prefer observant."

He chuckled at this. He couldn't decide which among Cole and Alex influenced the kid to sound so cheeky.

"What about you? What's your excuse for eating by yourself?" he asked.

Millie shrugged. "I like my me-time."

"Okaaay. Where's Alex? Is she alright?"

Cole called it "the time of the month". Whatever it was, it turned Alex into a bipolar monster who moaned and groaned and rolled around their bedroom for hours on end. When she was in her "time", Millie had learned to stay away.

"She's okay. Just tired is all." Millie locked eyes with Sonya, who then glared at Minho before turning back to one of her friends, trying a little too much to laugh at something she was saying.

"Your girlfriend is hot."

Minho roared with laughter at this. "That's classic, shank!" It took a couple of seconds for his laughter to simmer down enough so he could form coherent words again. "I thought by now you wouldn't be so impressed with Sonya considering your rommate is a girl."

"Who, Alex? She doesn't count."

"Why not? She's beautiful."

Both boys paused in shock.

"What?!" Millie exclaimed, knocking his eyeglasses off of his face.

"Stop talking and eat your shucking food!"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_Just another day in Paradise.


	20. Revelations

_**Disclaimer: **_I own nothing, dear readers.

* * *

They were in the empty lot behind The First House, getting rid of the muscle pain they got from running all day. They had been joking around and insulting each other, the way jokes and insults went hand in hand with the Lead Navigator. Thomas told him that just because he was the leader doesn't mean he knew everything. Minho responded cockily by saying that the reason people didn't oust him from his role was because he could make things work being a cocksure know-it-all.

"So technically I don't have to know everything."

_'There are some things you have to know though,'_ Thomas thought. And just like that, the ball got rolling.

"I need to tell you something about Alex."

That single sentence drained the smile from his face. He couldn't remember why he was smiling in the first place. There was a long pause. Neither said a word as the chilly evening air blew at them.

"She was Subject 47 of Group A, nicknamed _The Gambit_. Rightfully called so."

A sinking feeling weighed down his guts. He could only utter one word. "Why?"

Thomas couldn't look at him as he continued. "Her presence acted as the key to your killzone patterns, Minho. You had been shutting us out for months. The other scientists were at the end of their ropes. They were more than ready to terminate you."

"You mean kill me." It was more of a statement than a question. He felt like he was floating. All those times when he had fought tooth and nail to survive, he had been been marked for death.

"That was avoided because of her. Her mission in the Trials was never to survive it. She was put in the Glade to die. Her death was the only variable that got you to produce the killzone patterns that would get you out of the termination queue."

Minho's legs grew weak. There was nowhere near that he could sit so he slumped on the ground. Up ahead, he could hear Frypan ringing the bell to signal that dinner was ready.

"I'm guessing the reason you know all this is because you worked with the bastards who did those things to us. Am I right?" His voice grew louder with every word. Thomas could see the glint in his obsidian eyes, warning him of the wrath the Runner was trying to contain. He decided to face this head on. He had been preparing for days. The least he could do was own up his past choices like a man.

"More than that. The whole plan was my idea." He crouched down to face him. Minho's jaws grew slack. "Thomas...are you listening to yourself?"

"Janson couldn't be stopped in introducing the variable to you," the younger boy replied. "I wanted to do it right. Because whether or not the plan was a success somebody was bound to get killed. I didn't want it to be you and I sure as hell didn't want it to be an innocent Glader who we knew could never deliver."

"You couldn't spare an innocent Glader because his fucking brains were too precious. So instead you sent an innocent, dispensable Medic is that it? And for what? So that you could crack open my shuck skull?!" Minho was shaking with anger. It took every ounce of his self-control not to pound Thomas to a pulp. He would've preferred to die than to have Alexandria, or anybody for that matter, bite it for his sake.

"Sonuvabitch," he murmured, glaring at anywhere but Thomas.

"I know sorry doesn't even scratch the surface but I'm gonna say it anyway. I'm so, so sorry, Minho." Thomas looked up at him. "Ever since Aris told me the story behind her death, there wasn't a day when I didn't wake up feeling guilty about it. And though I'm more than glad that she turned out to be alive, I'd be lying if I said I regretted my decisions in the past because they kept _you_ alive. You're of more worth in this world than a lab rat in a failed experiment. I just know it."

"Don't think your poetic klunk earns you forgiveness for what you did!" Minho snapped back.

"I'd be surprised if it did."

_'How dare you,' _he thought. Thomas made it sound like he understood what he put Minho through but the latter knew he never will. During the days which immediately followed the Griever attack, the young Runner had been beside himself. He thought he was going jacked. Everything was excruciating and numb at the same time. He bargained with everything, with the odds and with his life for something which he knew was never coming back. And if that was how it felt like to _produce _those precious killzone patterns then fuck Thomas and his scientist friends for making him go through it.

"What else Thomas?" he asked in a low voice. His almond eyes glared at the boy in front of him. "What else have you been keeping from me?"

Thomas' ears rang. Through the ringing, an anguished voice echoed again and again.

_"Please Tommy, please."_

Once again, his heart sank further down that deep black hole.

"I killed Newt."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_For something so big I always thought Thomas' confession would come out randomly. There was no culminating event which happened prior to it...or even a precipitating question to fuel the unabridged revelation. Just a random, "You know what? I'm done with this guilt. I'm confessing." And of course Minho would be there to hear about it.

What are your thoughts guys? Please don't be shy to comment. Any form of advise, constructive criticism, and tips will be appreciated. Like most of you I'm just an amateur writer myself. I didn't get any formal training in this. Just a love for words and a hyperactive imagination.


	21. Constant Reminder

_**Disclaimer: **_TMRS ain't mine.

* * *

A loud knock echoed in the Council Room.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" Alex called out. The oil lamps were still lit. Parchment lay scattered on the table. She needed the Green Patch Map for another gathering task the next morning. Since there was no answer, she entered the room and made her way towards the large table in the center. She scanned through each map, looking for the familiar hand-drawn images that will lead her to the fertile clearing. She was impressed at the sketches' fine details. Each of them looked so vivid that it would have been easy for anyone to follow where each path headed. She was going over the remaining few maps when a smaller, square-shaped parchment fell to the floor. Curious, Alex picked it up and flipped it over. What she saw next made her heart stop.

It wasn't a map but a sketch of a person, someone who looked frighteningly familiar to her. His boyish smile radiated throughout the entire piece of the rough material. Wrinkled, gleeful eyes were framed by the charcoal waves dancing on his forehead. In her mind's eye those waves were blonde, dancing in very much the same way they did in the sketch as the dust-filled winds of Denver blew against them. A second later, she saw the blood and the dull brown eyes staring at an abyss she couldn't see. She saw the open mouth and the still chest of a lukewarm corpse.

"Oh my God."

On the lower right hand side was a name scrawled in sharp, capital letters. "NEWT."

Alex turned tail and burst out of the door. "Minho!" she called out. She felt breathless. Her vision burned with panic and unshed tears. Her heart thundered in her rib cage. Minho knew that boy. No doubt about it.

_'But does he know what happened to him?'_ The haunting thought crept up her muddled thoughts.

A commotion coming from the backdoor caught her attention. The slight girl ran towards it and pulled it open just in time to see Minho throw a fist on Thomas' jaw. The smaller boy fell to the ground with a pained groan. He barely had time to catch his breath when Minho jumped at him and aimed another punch on his head. It was the sickening crack of fist against skin that snapped Alex out of her shock.

"Stop it!" she shrieked, running towards the pair just as Minho lifted Thomas to his feet by the collar of his shirt and flung him against the wooden building's wall. The former Keeper of the Runners was the epitome of rage. His body shook with the same anger that drove away his catty remarks. He had gone silent. Worse, he had become deadly.

Alex jumped between the two boys before Minho could reach Thomas. Immediately, she thought that it was a bad idea.

"Stop. Please you're hurting him!" Her voice shook as she put her hands in front of her, urging him to stop.

"Fuck off," he breathed out.

Thomas grabbed her by the waist, "Get out-"

"Minho stop-!"

The raven-haired boy charged again. Air squeezed out of Alex's lungs as his sheer weight rammed against her small frame. Behind her, Thomas held his arms up to cover his face. Alex, stuck between the jostle, bore down until she managed to push the taller boy away.

"Stop! Please!" she gasped.

"You MURDERER!" he screamed. This time he had stopped attacking and pointed an accusatory finger at his best friend. "All this time you acted like one of the fucking good guys but you're just like those rotted sons of bitches!"

"He begged me to do it, goddamit!" Thomas screamed back, chest heaving in between rattling breaths. "Newt begged me to kill him. He didn't want to go past the gone." He hung his head down in shame.

The two fell silent. Alex's head whipped back to look at Thomas. Shell-shocked green eyes were glued to him.

"That was you?" She waited until the sad brown orbs looked up to face her. "I saw-I saw h-him but he was...that was you?" To say that she was dumbstruck was an understatement.

Minho and Thomas knew Newt. Thomas killed Newt. And he had managed to keep it all this time. It was enough to get her head spinning.

"I didn't want to," Thomas cried. "I begged him...there had to be another way, I said...but he wanted it finished. It was in the note that he gave me and he kept screaming and screaming that I pulled the trigger-I...I didn't want to. Because he wasn't like those monsters when he asked. He was still Newt."

Minho's voice was cold when he replied.

"_You _did that to _him_, Thomas." He enunciated each world slowly. "This is all on you. You ruin the lives of _everyone_ you come across and that includes you, shuckface," he glared at Alex. "We wouldn't have gone through all that hell if it wasn't for him and those assholes from WICKED." Minho sauntered past the stunned Alex and stopped inches from Thomas' face. "You all thought it was just a game didn't you? All those kids you crushed between the walls, they were all just statistics for you. Fuck you," he spat.

Thomas' lower lip quivered. "It had to be done. The world was dying. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I wish it had been you, Thomas." Minho's voice was flat, devoid of the anger that was so apparent merely seconds ago. "I wish _you _died instead of Newt. He didn't deserve any of the things you've put him through. None of us did."

He spat out a bloody wad of spit near Thomas' shoe and walked away, leaving Alex and Thomas in the ear-shattering silence of the aftermath.

The younger girl turned to look at the former WICKED prodigy who was slumped against the wall, wiping his face dry with the back of his hand.

"It's true you know," he croaked.

"Thomas-"

"Trust me on this one," he smiled wryly as he pushed himself away from the wall and stood in front of her. "I knew this was gonna happen. That's the reason why I kept it for so long."

After a long and awkward pause, Alex spoke up. "Let's go to the clinic."

"Nah," Thomas replied. "Go home. You don't need to do anything for me."

Alex looked irked at his comment. "You're right. I don't owe you anything." She stood up and walked away in the same manner Minho did earlier.

Thomas caught a glimpse of her green eyes before she disappeared. He could tell, underneath the worry and fear that dominated them was a stroke of resentment. He expected it, considering all the things his team had taken away from her. Seeing her live with the consequences of their mistake made him feel every bit like the monster he was trying to forget. For some reason, he had a feeling that she knew that. And maybe, if Thomas' theory was right, she thought it was all the penance she needed from him. Maybe that was why she was holding back.

A few minutes later Brenda appeared in front of him. Her face softened at the sight of Thomas but she remained still. He smiled weakly at her. "I told them everything."

"I know dear. Alex told me."

"What?"

Brenda held out her hand to him and Thomas gingerly took it. "That girl's a medic. You actually think she'll just leave you here for the flies? Come on."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ Like some of the chapters in The Variable, this one turned out quite different from my actual draft. For one thing, the draft Alex was angrier. Like...two notches below Minho's wrath. Because I thought that's the normal response for something so big. Then the shuckface does something very different from what I planned. Again. When these things happen, I usually choose the version the characters "chose" for themselves, if that makes sense. It seems more natural that way. Just a tip.

How d'you guys find the revelation? Lemme know your thoughts. Leave a review. =)


	22. Let Me In

_**Disclaimer: **_I do not own TMRS

* * *

Sonya knew something was very wrong the moment Minho stepped inside the room. First of all he was enraged. She had seen him angry too many times to know that this wasn't the usual flare up. This was something bigger. Second, his eyes looked puffy and red-rimmed. He had been crying.

"What's wrong?"

A pang of hurt pierced through her chest when she saw the annoyed look flash on his face. It quickly settled to its default frown before he gave her a one-worded reply.

"Everything."

Sonya stood up from where she was lying on bed. She crossed the room until she was in front of him. "Care to elaborate a bit hon? I'm not sure I understand."

Minho smiled wryly, refusing to meet her gaze. "Actually, I just need some time alone, Son. If you don't mind? Please."

The blonde shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what's wrong." There was a long pause. "Minho."

"Sonya," he warned, almond eyes glaring at her. "I'm not asking." He said each word slowly.

"Tell. Me." The blonde spat back getting angrier by the second. He replied with a chuckle and shook his head while a string of profanities spilled out of his mouth. He walked past her and collapsed on his bed.

"What?" she asked, shrugging nonchalantly, even though every bit of her wanted to throttle the truth out of him. "Are you trying to tell me you're comfortable enough to sleep with me but you're not comfortable enough to tell me what's bothering you?"

The dark-haired boy groaned. "Not now Sonya. _Please_. See, I'm begging you!"

"It's true isn't it?" She was shouting now. Minho bolted up from bed and screamed back. "This has nothing to do with you, goddamit! So stay out of it!"

"It has nothing to do with me because you never tell me anything!" She cursed loudly when she felt tears pushing from the back of her eyes. "Just let me in Minho! Let me in!"

He felt the blanket of numbness envelope him once more. This very ability to block out his emotions protected him from getting hurt. It was also the root of the many tragic events he experienced in the Maze.

"I can't. It's not gonna happen anytime soon. You should know that by now."

Sonya was stunned. It took her a few seconds to gather her bearings. The moment she did, she shoved him hard on the chest. The Runner barely budged.

"Then what's the point of this?" she hissed. She didn't wait for a reply before storming out of the room, leaving Minho to himself just as he had asked.

Needless to say he found no peace in the silence.

* * *

"Cole? If you break that door down you'll be fixing the damn thing yourself!" Bill snapped at the person rapidly knocking on their shared bedroom door. The young man usually did this when he forgot something, which happened on most mornings. He yanked it open, ready to mouth off the cheeky boy who so rudely made him rush at such an ungodly hour. When he saw who it really was however, he pressed his mouth shut.

Alex looked like a train wreck. She looked disheveled, like someone who just rolled out of bed and instantly sprinted on that spot outside their bedroom. From the dark circles under her dulled eyes he could tell the younger girl didn't get any sleep last night.

"Sorry to wake you up Bill," she murmured. The graying man frowned when he noticed her shaking.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. Alex made the mistake of looking up to meet his gaze. Right then and there, she lost her chance at being able to lie to him.

"Come in."

He closed the door behind the two of them. After a long pause, Alex started.

"Did you know that Minho and Thomas got into a fistfight last night?"

Bill was surprised. Thomas was just about the only one who had the patience and tact to deal with Minho's fiery temper. He couldn't imagine what the quieter boy did to make him snap. Unless...

"He said some pretty serious things too," Alex nodded. "Severe things. About what Thomas did in the past. And you know what the skinny ass boy said about those accusations? He said they were true. And..." she looked out the window, feeling at a loss for words all over again. She was in denial. Thomas being a good guy had been a constant in her life for months now. To have all that invalidated made her feel like she was grabbed by the ankles and dangled upside down. "I don't believe him."

"Alex," Bill started carefully. This was a very touchy subject, he knew. And if it required him to walk on eggshells then so be it. "Not many people would own up to doing something so horrible if it wasn't true."

"No," she snapped back. She raked both of her hands through her dark hair. "God this can't be...but it makes so much sense."

Bill took out the only chair in the room and offered it to her. The younger girl collapsed on it with a tired sigh. "What do you mean it makes sense?"

"I've been having these dreams," she said, "bad dreams. Nightmares where I'm being chased by monsters...which sucks because I've never seen one in my life. What made those dreams more bizarre was the fact that I kept seeing Thomas in it. He just stood there, not really doing anything even when those monsters buried me alive. Even when I screamed at him to help me. Imagine being buried by monsters." She scoffed. "Aren't they supposed to eat you or something?"

Bill's jaw dropped at this. Alex seemed unaware of this as she continued. "I had another one of those dreams last night. And then I remembered what Minho said. He was blaming him for everything."

He nodded in understanding. "So what is it Alex?"

Without missing a beat, she unbuttoned the top of her cardigan and showed him the embossed scar that dominated the left side of her chest.

"Did he do this? Was Minho right?"

Bill blinked a couple of times before looking away. "Yes. Him and them. A Griever caused that. Most likely those were the monsters in your dream."

"And you knew," she whispered. "Of course you did. You worked for WICKED. Gosh, I feel like an _idiot_."

"Alex."

"Why Bill? Why didn't he say anything? Why didn't _you _say anything?! Gosh, you knew the story of my shucking life all along and you never even thought of dropping a hint! Come on!"

Bill stood up, raising his hands in front of him to calm the young girl down. He was scared she might come apart at the seams any moment now.

"Listen to me. Thomas didn't remember doing it 'till recently. Him and Minho never got the Swipe reversed."

"I'm pretty sure he remembered putting a bullet through Newt's skull though," was Alex's biting reply. "I don't think he said anything about it either. So I don't expect him to say anything. You, on the other hand. _Man,_ I did not see that coming at all." It was glaringly obvious, which made her angrier. "How could you keep something like this?!"

"It was a test Alexandria." He couldn't stop his voice from raising a notch. He kept his silence to protect her, just as they asked him to. He did not expect to be repaid like this. "And it breaks my heart to say this to you but you were just a variable in their twisted tests. Darling, you lost your life to a test, a failed one at that. You wanna tell me how I was suppose to break that bit of fact to you?" When Alex didn't say anything, he added. "But you want to know the real catch though? You volunteered to do it...for Minho." He smiled sadly after the last word.

Alex felt her stomach drop on the floor. "What? I volunteered? Why in the world would I volunteer for him?" She stood up and walked over to Bill until she was inches from his face. Then she hissed, "Are you telling me I-sort-of died because of that asshole?"

_'Leave it to Alex to act like a dork in the face of such earth-shattering revelation,'_ Bill mused silently. He was still angry at her for acting the way that she did, as justified as her reaction had been. So he decided to drop another bombshell.

"It's crazy, what people are willing to do for the people they love." The look on her face was priceless. He could see the exact second the color drained from her face. When she was about to protest, he beat her to it.

"You can only imagine what it's like for that asshole. Because I bet that kid loved you as much if not more than you ever did. And he still does."

"William! He _hates _me."

"He hates the fact that you don't remember him. How do you think it would make you feel if Millie wakes up one morning screaming bloody murder because he has no idea who you are? Look, the poor thing was already miserable when he thought you were gone. But seeing you alive and not knowing who he was? I'm surprised he managed to hold it together for this long."

"Well it's not my fault-" Alex started but was cut off by Bill. "No, it's WICKED's. And by extension, Thomas as well." He sighed. "Look don't take this the wrong way. I'm not saying what he did was right, but I understood why he did it. He only wanted what's best for this world. Minho knows this as well. He's a smart boy. It's just that it's more difficult for him to accept this I suppose. He had lost so much to the Trials. You. Ben. Zart. Newt. The fact that Thomas had been the one to pull the trigger on all four was the last straw for him."

Alex stayed silent. She mulled over these things over and over again. True, she wanted to stay angry. She wanted to have someone to blame her misfortune to but knowing the circumstances made holding on to grudges too difficult. All of them were just pawns, after all. All of them had been used by WICKED in their twisted game of playing God. And then there was that one unsettling revelation that nagged at her like the mother of all toothaches.

"I loved him."

Bill didn't hold back a chuckle this time. "I see you're still not over that part."

"Because!" She frowned at him. "You just made me sound like a post apocalyptic martyr. Jesus."

The truth was, Alex was terrified, not just because she knew the truth now. But because by knowing the truth, things actually started to fall into place and make sense.

"You weren't imagining it Alexandria. Now you know why Sonya hates you so much," Bill chirped.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_ Was expecting this one to be angst-filled. And it's not. Oh well. Sorry if some of you think the previous chapters had been too hanging and such. Lemme me make up with this one. Thought I'd just put these two chaps in one considering the Minho bit was really short.

I'll give u guys a bit of a spoiler for the next chapter. Bill and Minho.


	23. Catharsis

**_Disclaimer:_** Do not own TMRS.

* * *

_You're so full of shit, you know that?_

Those had been her last words to Bill after that Sonya comment he said, which she thought was a low blow.

The not-so-enlightening revelation happened over a week ago. Still, she felt anything but settled. In fact she grew more restless. The numbing effect that ignorance held over her before was gone. In its place were statements that Bill and Thomas claimed were true, statements she had a hard time accepting. Yet she couldn't stop thinking about them. They drilled holes in her head and kept her awake at night. As a result, she went through the days in a daze, barely conscious of everything that was happening around her. Her face was stuck in a perpetual frown.

"A word of caution, sweetheart. Half-assing your way through the rest of your life won't make things easier...just so you know."

It was late in the afternoon and Alex had resigned herself to brooding in the partial darkness of the bedroom she shared with Millie. She forgot to close the door.

Green eyes glared at Cole's blue ones as he slumped cross-legged beside her.

"That sounds heavy coming from you," she mumbled. She could tell that Cole knew about the talk she had with Bill.

Or...

"Please don't tell you were in on it as well or I swear - "

"Relax!" Cole scoffed. "I was as much in the dark about The Legend of Alexandria as you were. Trust me."

She rolled her eyes at this. "The whole thing sounds like a badly-written horror story. Seriously, could it get more pathetic than that?"

She often thought about how easy life would have been if things ended with the Griever attack. The never-ending flow of Earth-shattering revelations had left her queasy and her nerves frayed.

'And for what?' She used to believe that the truth was the panacea to every misery that she went through. When the truth came, she realized with deep regret that things weren't going fix themselves that easily.

Cole's deep voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"I heard about your little chat with Bill," he said. "He admits you caught him off-guard. Didn't think he handled it too well."

Alex shrugged. She had been too numbed with his claims to notice.

"You know what I think?" he added, nudging his knee against hers. "The Scorch has left all of us a bit fucked-up in the head. Even you, Munies. Bill's no exception. His way of coping with the hard stuff often involves poking fun and downplaying the most severe situations. It's scary and annoying. I apologize on his behalf."

"You don't have to. I have a bad feeling I'll be over it soon, anyways."

She hated to admit it but he had his reasons. Plus, she had a soft spot for the old man. She couldn't stay mad at him even if she wanted to. That in itself was maddening.

They were both silent for a long time. It was Alex who broke the spell.

"I just wish Minho will give him a shittier time than I did."

* * *

The sun had barely risen up the horizon when he started running. The dark-haired boy ran as fast and as far as his strong legs could take him. He ran until his sides cramped and his lungs caught on fire. He dreaded the time when he had to stop. Not long after he would do that, the demons that he was trying to avoid would catch up with him, wrecking havoc on his battered conscience.

Minho's way of coping had always been to bottle up unpleasant feelings and tuck them somewhere in the back off his mind where he could forget about them. This time though, his method wasn't working. And it was slowly beginning to drive him nuts. The insanity held its steady grip on him until he started running again. It was the only thing that made him forget. So run he did.

That had been going on for over a week. The rest of the navigation team were beginning to wonder if Minho still had it in him to lead. Ever since the day Thomas turned up with a blackeye, the team had been receiving instructions from the lead navigator through his on-again-off-again girlfriend, whom he managed to remain civil with despite the rough patch their relationship was going through. When questioned of his whereabouts, the blonde former Icer would relay to them what he told her: He was on a solo mission. And they, like her, wasn't too sure if they believed him.

Bill heard all about this from Jorge. Right then, he knew he had to help the kid knock some sense in himself. He thought he owed him that much. He also thought that if he paid his penance to the boy then maybe his pseudo-daughter would finally get over his crassness. She had been avoiding him for days now.

Luckily, Minho returned early that day. He stood by the edge of the forest heading to the Green Patch when he saw him running his way. His facial features were a blur to his poor vision. His only tell tale signs that it was him were the strong arms showing through the drenched wife beater and the solid gait he had observed many times in WICKED's testing arena.

Fearing that he won't stop for his sake, Bill stepped out of the shade and right into the Runner's way.

"Oh good. You're back," he started. "I would've run after you but I'm afraid my kneecaps aren't as good as they used to be."

The young man skidded to a halt in front of him. He put his hands on his waist as he caught his breath.

"How the shuck did you get past the guards?" he scolded in between breaths. "You got a death wish or something?"

"I'm seventy years old," he retorted. "Am I even still eligible for one? Anyways, I want to talk to you."

"Maybe later," he pushed his way past Bill and was about to go into a sprint when the older man called after him.

"You're not in the Maze anymore Minho!"

He stopped and turned back to give him his signature glare.

"This time if you want to survive with your brain intact you need to face your monsters, not run away from them."

"Monsters my ass," he muttered under his breath. He added more loudly, "Look I'm not in the mood for your old man philosophy-"

"Thomas saved you, whether you like it or not," Bill interrupted. He wanted to get it over with in the most forward way possible, which seemed to be the only way that worked with the young man. "He knew what he was doing."

Minho took a couple steps until he was inches away from the older man's face. "Listen old man. I would _never_ allow Alex to do something at the cost of her life. I'm sure that sonuvabitch knew that." Rivulets of sweat dripped down his temples. His chest heaved with every breath. His almond-shaped eyes were wide open. Bill thought he didn't look angry. He looked like he was on the brink of a meltdown. He tried to reply as calmly as he could.

"You're not the only who's willing to die for the people you love." He paused, letting the gears in the Runner's head churn to understand what he was trying to say. "She knew the consequence. And she wouldn't have had it any other way."

"She gave me no choice!"

"It wasn't your decision to make! It was hers."

"No..." he shook his head in denial, blinking rapidly against the pressure building behind her eyeballs.

"Yes, Minho," Bill replied firmly. "As for Newt-"

"Shut up." There was a long pause. "Don't go there."

"I've lost friends, good friends, to the Flare too. I'm not saying I know how you feel about this I'm telling you what I believe it true." He put a hand on Minho's shoulder, urging the boy to face him.

"For people who turned into Cranks, the best think you could do for them is to let them go with dignity, stop the disease from turning into into the very things we fought against. Thomas did that for him. So no one else had to."

Minho flinched away from him, cursing as he turned his back against him to look at the empty grassland between them and the nearest gate into Paradise.

"Still. He should've said something early on. You know the worst part had always been not knowing." It all came out as a harsh whisper.

"...I know. I'm sorry."

For the first time since they escaped that Maze, Minho allowed himself to cry.

* * *

Thomas had been helping the plumbers fix one of the main water pumps in the village. One of the bolts got snagged for the umpteenth time and called for maintenance. Many people weren't happy. They all wanted to get the job done before sundown or else work would be compromised for everyone the next day. He had been tightening one of the screws to put the handle in place when a shadow came over him.

"Aris, how many times do I have to tell you to quit blocking the shucking sun?" He turned around and saw Minho's broad silhouette facing him. His features looked dim against the afternoon glare.

"You have a minute?" he asked. It sounded foreign for the seventeen-year old who hadn't heard it for days.

Neither said another word as they made their way on top of a small hill on the eastern side of the village. They sat down on a fallen log, facing the apothecary where workers walked in and out of its main door in a steady stream.

Minho broke the silent spell. He nodded towards the side of Thomas' head. "I like what I did to your face."

"Yeah?" Thomas' replied, gently rubbing the fading bruise under his right eye. "Well it brings depth to my cheekbones, that's for sure."

Both laughed about it. When their giggles simmered down to silent chuckles, Minho quickly added, "It's what Newt would have preferred anyway." He turned to look at Thomas to let him know he was serious. "He wanted to go while he was still _him,_ I suppose."

"That's what he told me," the younger boy replied.

"But maybe you would've spared yourself from the blackeyes if you said something earlier," Minho said, annoyed. "What the shuck, Thomas?"

The younger boy shook his head. "I highly doubt that. But you're right, I should have told you. I wanted to. Honestly, I was scared." He picked up a pebble lying near his foot and tossed it in front of him. "I was scared that if I tell you I was going to lose you too. Crank or no Crank that would have been enough to drive anyone jacked."

"Well you almost did so...fair enough." Minho offered his right hand. "Truce?"

Thomas shook it with a firm grip. "Truce." He turned to look towards the apothecary down the hill. "Look who decides to show up."

From a distance, Alex emerged from the apothecary carrying with her a basket of stoppered vials. A butterfly passed in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She watched in fascination as a group of children ran after it.

"You know, not all of us get to meet the person we're willing to give our life up for."

Minho turned to look at Thomas, who continued to gaze at the former Medic. "So if you do get to meet that person I doubt it would be that easy to forget her or him. Do you know where I'm getting at?"

The older boy looked at him for a long time, trying to decipher his words. After a couple of seconds, a small smile graced his lips. "Huh." He stood up and walked towards Alex. Thomas watched the exchange from afar. He didn't have to hear them to know that they were bickering again. Alex panicked a little when Minho took the basket from her. With much hesitation from the green-eyed girl, the two made their way towards the clinic. Every once in a while, she would try to take the load from Minho who would lift it over his head and out of her reach. Thomas chuckled at this.

He knew those two will figure themselves out eventually, whether it be as a couple or not. They always do.

* * *

The girl manning the front part of the clinic gave the pair an odd look when Minho handed her the basket of goods. A few steps behind him, Alex gave her an awkward wave. When he didn't get as much as a thankful nod, Minho stuck his tongue out at her. The brunette harrumphed and walked over to the next table to whisper with the other girl working with her. Both were survivors from Group B.

"I don't think they liked us very much," Alex pointed out as they made their way out to the main street.

"They don't give a shuck about us as long as they don't see us together," he replied. He fumbled with the hem of his sleeveless top. Since when did he forget where to put his hands when he was talking to girls? Alex, on the other hand, stopped and turned to look at him.

"Well you should've said something. I would've just waited outside the door it that's the case."

"Skipped my mind," he answered back nonchalantly. He did remember. He just didn't care. They continued walking until they walked by a large tree with sagging branches. Alex swerved towards it. Minho, not knowing what else to do, followed suit. His breath hitched up his throat when he noticed her intense gaze on him. Even after all those years, even after everything that happened, he was impressed at how she still had the same effect on him as she did when he was fifteen.

"Look," she said, looking down at her feet, "I know about the Trials and the variable. Bill told me."

His face remained impassive. On the inside, his heart was thundering.

"Took you long enough." His voice was soft when he said this. Alex turned a dark shade of pink, which made him wonder.

"How much do you know?"

The shorter girl nervously chewed on the half of her lower lip. "I know why I did it. And um...we used to be...but that doesn't mean..._shuck."_ She sighed. Minho couldn't help but smile at her obvious discomfort.

"How does it feel to know that you used to love kissing me?"

'Come on,' she thought, holding back the urge to smack him across the face. She refused to back down. She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Not as shocking as knowing I used to love you."

Both stood in silent, shocked. Though Minho knew that they both used to know how they felt towards each other, it was rarely laid out in the open. In fact the only times he remembered the two of them saying the three magic words out loud were in times of extreme discomfort or moments before impending doom struck them. And then there were the words "used" and "to", which changed the context entirely.

Used to. She used to love him. But not anymore.

"Thing is," she continued, choosing her words carefully, "knowing and remembering, they're different."

"Meaning?" Oh, he knew what she meant.

Alex fumbled with her hands, desperate for something to stare at other than his eyes. "I can't go back to being that girl anymore, even after knowing the whole story. Most of it anyway. It doesn't work that way. So might as well...I dunno."

A part of her was glad for that. So much had happened while she was gone. Minho finally built a life for himself with someone else. When she looked at it objectively, it was better that she didn't remember. That way she didn't have to feel the need to mourn for all that she lost...all that they both lost. The taller boy let out a breath, as though he had been punched in the gut. They both stayed silent. All the while, eyes watched them and ears turned in from a distance. Alex took a step back. If they were going to get through this conversation without causing a massive scandal they had to set boundaries. Physical boundary seemed like a good place to start.

"If you're expecting me to throw everything we ever had down the klunkhole, you're going to be royally pissed." His gaze locked on hers. The best she could do was stare back. She had no idea where he was heading with this. "You wanted us to avoid each other right?"

_Kinda_. "Well..."

"It's not gonna work shank," he shook his head. A cocky smirk emerged on his face.

"You sound so sure of yourself."

"Because I am." He sighed in exasperation, as though he were explaining something trivial to a toddler. "Obviously you don't remember. But trust me on this. Whether you like it or not, whether Sonya, or even WICKED like it or not, we will always find each other Alex. That's just the way things go. Either you find me or I find you. Avoiding it won't stop it from happening."

She look down, unable to help the smile from forming on her lips. Even with the rough tone he was using to state this observation, she couldn't deny the fact that it also sounded very sweet of him to point that out.

"Look I'm not saying I want things to go back to how they were in the Maze. But I've already lost a lot to the Scorch. I don't want to lose my best friend too, not if I don't have to."

Alex growled in frustration. "What part of I can't be that girl anymore do you not understand?"

Minho rolled his eyes. "Just humor me alright?" His hands lifted automatically to cup her face. He managed to stop them while his fingertips were still inches away from her skin.

"Hey," he mumbled, urging her to look up at him. Green met brown.

"Say what you want but I'm not giving up on you that easily."

That did it. Alex didn't know how she lasted that long without dissolving into tears. But she could only keep it together for so long. The tears rushed out before she could hide her face. She was thankful that he didn't do anything cheesy like wipe her nose with his sleeve while he waited for her to recover from the hiccups. Minho stood there patiently as she dried her tears with the back of her hand and sniffed until her nose cleared.

"What about Sonya?" she croaked.

"She'll come around. I'm going to fix us, eventually. I'm still hers. That hasn't changed."

"Good to know." Alex believed it without a doubt. Minho was desperate to do so.

They bid their farewells after that. Life had to move on. Besides, more people were beginning to stare. For the most part, Minho was glad. Despite Alex's insistence that it wasn't the case, he couldn't help but feel as though he got her back. In a way, she was still the same Alex that he knew and loved. He knew he shouldn't feel it but a spark of something stirred within him, something familiar, the only thing that kept him going during those dark years he spent in the Maze.

Minho felt hope.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ To make up for the late update. Sorry you guys. Grown up stuff had to be sorted out first. Hope this chapter made up for it.


	24. Family

Cole could still remember the moment he was cured. He could still recount that one excruciating minute when his sanity came back to subdue the rage within him with a firm grip. The first coherent word that came to his mind was "family".

Family.

In a world ravaged by the Flare and a virus that turned people towards each other, family became an experience that only the lucky ones got to have. "Home" had become a privilege while "shelter" was considered seasonal. For him to be cured and to have a family on top of that, Cole knew he was beyond lucky. He had hit the post Scorch jackpot. So as penance for the hideous things he had committed as a Crank, he vowed to look after his family no matter what. This family included Bill and Millie.

Bill was his uncle-in-law of sorts. His late wife, Helena, had been his mother's second cousin. They didn't always see each other eye-to-eye. Things went further down south when he got infected. Still, the gray-haired man never gave up on him and for that he was forever thankful. Millie had been with Bill longer than Cole. The little boy was adopted by his uncle and Helena before he was even potty-trained, which by default made him "one of them". The boy's parents were strangers as far as he was concerned. Once he asked Bill if the sickly boy he smuggled back into his home had been a lab rat of one of WICKED's inhuman tests. He denied this and told him that Millie's parents used to work for WICKED as well. He immediately understood why Bill was referring to them in the past tense and never brought them up again.

And so Cole looked after his little family with constant vigilance. Times were hard. And with the infection rates growing exponentially by the week, circumstances had become deadlier. Nobody could afford to look after friends anymore. Bottom line of it all: all they had was each other.

And then "Alex" came. Or that's what Bill told them to call the half dead girl the first time they laid eyes on her. Alex wasn't family. And knowing how things were and how they worked, he knew she never will be. Still, his uncle constantly reminded them to play nice. It wasn't her fault she ended up with them. It wasn't her fault that she had to end up sharing their scarce supplies with them. This ticked Cole off endlessly during the first few weeks that she spent with them. He had every right to be. After all, it was _his _neck that was often put in line every fortnight so that they could get some food in their bellies.

To his relief, after the initial hysteria of not remembering anything and the many tearful nights which followed it, she turned out alright. She earned her share. She gained their trust. At one time, she even caught his eye. Alex became someone they could turn to when things got tough. She got their back and they got hers.

But still, she wasn't family. Between the three of them and the green-eyed girl was an invisible line that she couldn't cross. Cole never mentioned this to her. He didn't have to. She had always known.

A couple of weeks after the fall of Denver, they got to talking about it.

"You're lucky because you have Bill and Millie," she said. Because Bill did tell him to play nice and because he found her cute at that time, he added, "And you."

Alex chuckled before draining the last dregs of water in her canteen. "Things are different with me and you know that. I'm just a tag along."

"No." _Well, yes._ "Have you ever wondered if there are people out there who know you?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Of course there are," she replied. "I'm sure of it. The bummer part of it is that I have no idea how to find them. I mean, are they still alive? It would be nice to be with the people whom you belong to. The same way you belong with those two," she nodded towards Bill and Millie who were bickering over a chess set across the room.

"You belong with us now."

Alex gave him a doubtful look. He could tell she didn't buy it. "Okay. If you say so."

"Do you miss them though?"

She laughed in reply. "Miss them? I don't even know who they are."

* * *

They were arguing about moonshine. He could tell that much. The tight band of brothers and one sister was now divided into two opposing groups. Frypan and Alex were on one side. Gally, Leo, and Clint were on the other. After much eavesdropping, he finally found out the specific cause of their overly vocal argument: A new ingredient to their classic "good stuff".

"It's just for flavoring Gally! It's not like it's gonna kill us," Frypan argued.

"He's right," Alex backed him up. "I've tried it myself. It doesn't do anything to the strength of the booze. Swear."

"You expect me to take your word for it? You're a freak," Gally shot back. "You could drink drink a bottle of poison and _still _get away with it without as much as a hangover. No way man."

This statement erupted into another round of shouting, which was fueled with devious whispers of encouragement from Minho and Aris. When the two groups resorted into banging fists on the tables, the two exchanged victorious fist bumps.

"Are those two idiots trying to start a brawl or something?" Harriet asked incredulously. Cole shrugged. "Looks like it."

"Boys will be boys," she sighed. "You know what, I have no idea how she lived with it in the Maze. And look, she's still living with it. Right in the thick of things."

"It's where she belongs." When the afro-haired girl turned to look at him, he added, "It doesn't always make sense but if you're with family you will always manage to deal with the craziness and their shit just fine."

To settled things down, Leo and Alex agreed to taste a batch. This turned into a full blown drinking session, which lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. Alex stumbled back in their cabin a few minutes before the crack of dawn, too drunk to walk in a straight line.

"Proper girls don't tag along with drunk boys. Shouldn't you be old enough to know that?" Bill pointed out. His hands were planted on his hips, which hinted Cole of just how pissed the old man was.

'Saint Alex committing a transgression? No...' the teenage boy thought mirthfully.

"I wasn't...I wasn't a tag-along _Bill_," Alex slurred. "I am part of the brotherhood!" She exclaimed, parroting Frypan's words to her earlier. She let out a disgusting burp and parked herself on one corner of the living room. She was asleep before her head landed on the floor. The vein in the middle of Bill's forehead began to throb visibly.

"This is madness."

Cole laughed and slapped Bill at the back. "Let's just pray she'll have a hangover in a couple of hours so we can at least say 'I told you so'".

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Some call bits like this one a breather. I just think I owe these kids a drink or two. Kidding.


	25. Penance

Alex woke up with a huge gasp. Her lungs burnt. It was as if she had been holding her breath for ages and had just inhaled oxygen after nearly passing out. She looked at her surroundings and felt cold dread like an ice cube sliding down her stomach. Ivy-covered walls towered over her from all directions. Dull, yellow sunlight filtered through them, illuminating dust particles in the air.

"Not again," she mumbled. "Anywhere but here."

She forced to steady her shaking knees as she stood up from the limestone floor. Up ahead, a loud boom emerged from deeper inside the labyrinth, reverberating down the ancient-looking walls. It was followed by a crack on the floor, which spewed sharp bits or rock and limestone in its wake. Alex could only stare as the crack ran the entire length of the corridor she was in, whizzing past the spot just a few feet from where she stood.

Then the unthinkable happened. She nearly lost her balance as the ground she stood on shifted back violently. By the time she managed to look up again, there was already a steep canyon in front of her. A figure on the other side caught her eye. It was a boy. He had dark hair and a blue button-down blouse. He was crouched down as if bracing himself for something. When he looked up, she found herself getting a lot more confused.

"Minho!" she exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing?!"

It was only when he shifted his position did she realize what he was going to do. The slinthead was going to jump.

"Don't do it!" she begged. The ravine was too wide. He wasn't going to make it. Her blood turned to ice as she watched him jump in an arch over the emptiness between them. Before she could utter his name once again, he had slammed on the edge of the surface that she stood on. She jumped and put half of her body weight on one of his arms before he could slip any further.

"Take my hand!" she reached out just in time as Minho's right hand reached for her. With the all the strength she could muster, she helped him ease off the edge and onto solid ground.

"Don't worry. I got you," she promised. He had barely climbed on to safety when he let out a pained grunt, jerking forward as though he had just been shoved roughly.

A terrified scream ripped from her throat at what she saw next. There, jutting out of his chest was a metal stinger with the diameter of her fist. It punched a hole on the spot where his heart ought to be. The two exchanged terrified looks.

"Stay with me," she whispered shakily. "Please, stay with me." The stinger pulled back and like a hook, it ripped him out of her grasp. She was frozen on the spot, unable to do anything except scream his name as she watched him fall face down into the endless abyss.

* * *

"Minho! MINHO!"

"Alex, wake up."

She let out another scream before she managed to pry her eyes open. Cole had her by the arms, holding her up in a sitting position from where she passed out on the floor not an hour earlier. Bill was right behind him, holding a candle over them. Millie clung onto Cole's back.

"It was just a dream," he said soothingly. He was worried at the look of pure terror on the girl's face. Her cheeks glistened with tears and she could not stop hyperventilating.

"Come here." He enveloped her in a hug. She had a death grip on the fabric of his shirt as she continued to sob her heart out.

"Hey. You were screaming Minho's name like he was being butchered in front of you. What was that all about?"

"I couldn't save him... I wasn't fast enough..." she managed to say in between hiccups.

"What in the world are you talking about?" He was patting her on the back as he spoke to calm her down. "He looked fine the last time I saw him. He's there, next door. Probably snoring or shagging that hottie Sonya." Bill nudged him at the back.

It took her a few more minutes to gather most of her composure. She slowly pushed away from Cole and rubbed her face dry. "Sorry," she croaked.

"What were you dreaming about?" Millie asked curiously.

"A maze. It was moving and stuff." Millie and Cole exchanged confused looks. Alex could only shrug. It was so ridiculous and disturbing that it wouldn't have made any sense if she tried to explain it further. Hell, it didn't make any sense to her.

"Where are you going?" She had pushed herself off the floor and was wobbling on her way to the front door. Bill caught her wrist. "Alex-"

"Just want to get some fresh air Bill. I'm sort of humiliated at the moment." His hand shifted from her wrist to cup her cheek.

"We're here if you need us kiddo. Alright?"

She nodded in reply. "And sorry I got drunk."

The humid early morning air hit her face as she pulled the front door open. It did nothing to stop the tightening of her chest. Still, she was determined to find a place where she could be alone. She was had to or else she would never get over that jarring nightmare. She began to walk aimlessly, avoiding the few people who were already awake and walking down the village's footpaths.

'Was it a memory?' She shook her had at the thought. It couldn't be. That blow looked too fatal. And in the unlikely even that he _did_ go through such an ordeal, that metal stinger would have surely left a mark. He wouldn't be running the way he still did.

She reached the fallen log at the hill behind the apothecary and sat on its rough surface. She couldn't stop tugging at her collar to fan herself. The humidity was stifling.

"Get a grip, will you?" she mumbled to herself. She made the mistake of closing her eyes. The instant she did, the image of the dying boy flashed in front of her. Because it was her dream, she knew the exact moment that his heart stopped. It was a moment that pierced through her. She could see his lifeless eyes once again, prompting a fresh batch of hot tears out of her.

She continued to sob silently in her own bubble of misery. She felt silly mourning over someone who was still alive. It was ridiculous but that embarrassing part wasn't the most bothersome. What ate at her was the gut-wrenching anguish that consumed her when she thought Minho had died. The Scorch had familiarized her quite well with the concept of death. She had seen friends and neighbors drop like flies either from the heat of the sun or from the Flare virus. It was never a pleasant experience but it was nowhere near as painful as seeing that shuckface die. She thought she would go crazy right then and there, like she had lost her immunity to the virus and succumbed to its effects in under one minute.

He didn't matter anymore, did he? So why did his death felt like the death of her too?

Movement from behind her caught her attention. She glanced back in alarm.

"You're up early. Damn, you really _are _a heavyweight." Thomas stood behind her with his hands raised by his head defensively. She quickly dried her face with her shirt as the taller boy took a seat next to her. She hid behind her curtain of black hair, feeling self-conscious.

"Don't you have work to do in an hour?" she asked. She sounded scratchy.

"There's no need to hide your face, shank," Thomas replied. "I've had moments when I looked shittier than you after a nightmare." She threw him a surprised glance so he added, "After all we've been through, bad dreams are a guaranteed given." His smile never quite reached his eyes. The brown orbs blatantly betrayed him by looking so sad. She thought there was something familiar about that look.

"I guess you can say that again."

There was a long pause where the two of them did nothing but stare at the sleepy village in front of them, both lost in their own thoughts. It was Thomas who broke the spell first.

"What was it all about?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I tell you."

He knew he probably would but decided to drop it. "Hey listen..." He shifted in his seat to face her. "I never really had the chance to apologize for the hell I've put you through. You and Minho both. I uh... I've seen the price that you paid for surviving our shucked experiments. To put in a nutshell, I've ruined everyone's lives and I'm still trying to live with that fact. Sorry doesn't even scratch the fucking surface but-"

"Doesn't matter," she cut in. This shut Thomas up. He expected her to lash out and try to claw his face off at the very least. She seemed to have read his mind and shrugged. "You did what you had to do under the circumstances. Someone had to kick the bucket. You had to decide which death was worth it. So if there's anyone whom WICKED fucked up the most, it's you."

"That does not make me feel better. At all," he replied glumly. They both chuckled at this.

"Can I tell you something though? Just between you and me." Green eyes bored into Thomas. He had no choice but to nod.

"I realized this just now. I'm glad your plan worked. You kept Minho alive. And for some reason that my mushed brain couldn't remember just yet you're always going to be my hero for doing that."

Thomas smiled bashfully at this, feeling ten times lighter all of a sudden. "Are you kidding me?"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah well, I had to keep my end of the bargain right? After that grand exit of yours."

"Must have been a tough end to keep up."

He made a face at this. "Nah. Not really. He did most of the surviving himself. Sometimes I swear they infused Minho with cockroach genes sometime during the experiment. He's that difficult to kill."

Alex had to agree. And from what she knew about the almond-eyed boy, he would most likely take that statement as a compliment.

* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**I still cannot imagine how Min walked out of that lightning strike. Shouldn't he be hospitalized for that? He shrugged it off like it's just a little scratch. What the...

REVIEWS ARE WELCOME! I know I've been crap at updating lately. Consider this my peace offering. Peace!


	26. Deja Vu

Alex was afraid of what remembering will bring her. Minho wanted her to remember but was slowly losing hope on it happening with every passing day. As the months dragged by in Paradise, the idea of things getting back to the way they were became less and less feasible. Too much had happened during the times that they spent away from each other. They might as well be strangers now. And yet there were instances, flitting moments when both of them could feel the past coming back to haunt them, like lost words that never go beyond the tips of their tongues or things that felt new and old at the same time. These were instances that both scared and intrigued them. It scared them because they were aware of the consequences it could bring if they acted on it. It intrigued them because it gave them a glimpse of what could have been. Every once in a while those moments came. They acted on it the best way they knew how.

* * *

Minho had just entered the village from the west gate after a solo run when he saw someone dangling from a tree, a few meters off the main footpaths. Alex had her hands clamped on a thick, mossy branch. Her feet swung in the air as though trying to latch on to something solid, which unfortunately, was a couple of feet too far to be of reach. She rolled her eyes when she saw a familiar figure appear below her. She'd recognize that smirk from a mile away.

"Hi," he greeted, looking up.

"Hello." She tried to sound as calm as possible despite the inferno ravaging the sockets of her shoulders. She must have dangled for at least three minutes by then.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Oh you know just...hanging around. It sounded like a good idea a while ago." She found a plant growing on one of the branches of the shucking tree. Curious, she decided to take a closer look. By the time she realized that it was nothing but a useless weed and that she had severely overestimated her climbing prowess, it was already too late. She had lost her footing and had barely managed to cling on the branch at the very last second. Minho found her that way.

"And how are you finding it?" he chuckled.

"Fun. Isn't it obvious?" came her snarky reply.

He could tell she was losing her grip. He knew Alex would be too stubborn to ask for help. She would rather fall on the ground and risk twisting an ankle than ask him to catch her. He tried to come up with something which he could manipulate her into accepting help from him. _Something interactive._

"What are you doing?" she asked. The dark-haired boy had walked over to the spot directly below her. He took her feet and placed them on his shoulders. Once he felt most of her weight on him, he held his hands over his head.

"Move slowly and take my hand," he instructed. She did as she was told. Soon she was standing on his shoulders, bent over so that she could hold on to his hands and maintain her balance. The duo looked like an amateur circus act. She tried to ignore the pleasant way his hands clasped onto hers. It felt warm and nice and, if she could dare admit it, brutally familiar.

"Earth to Alexandria." Minho's voice pulled her out of her cheesy thoughts. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

Alex shook her head, feeling more than a bit embarrassed. "Say it again."

He sighed. "I said try to sit on me." The sentence made her wobble on his shoulders. He had to hold on to her hands tighter to keep her steady. "Whoa! Watch it!"

"Excuse me?" she asked, mortified.

"Try to sit on my shoulders so I could ease you down," he explained. "Or you could somersault from there to the ground. Your choice."

"Okay, okay." She took a deep breath. Though she was considerably nearer to the ground, the jump from Minho to sweet earth was still a high one.

'Why does he have to be so tall?' she thought. "Just...don't let me go, okay?"

"I never did," he mumbled. She was too busy shifting her position to hear it. Slowly but surely, she managed to inch her legs down in front of him until she ended up sitting on his shoulders. Minho, as promised, still held on to her hands. He had her arms spread like an eagle.

"Now what?"

As soon as the question left her lips, Minho spun in place like a top. Alex shrieked in surprise as the world around her spun at dizzying speed.

_"C'mon Greenbean! Show 'em who's the boss!"_

_"Hey-Minho put me down! I'm gonna throw up-put me down or I'll hurl in your hair!"_

_A change of scenery. She was hugging her. He hugged her back. A devious smirk crept up his lips before he squeezed her torso and spun her in place. She was screaming and laughing at the same time._

A warm tingling sensation formed at the pit of her stomach. It went up and up until it reached her brain, turning into an itch deep within her skull. It sat on that spot that she knew was there but was just out-of-reach, taunting her.

'This has happened before,' she thought. 'But when? Where?'

Her knees trembled by the time her feet touched the ground. Despite the world tipping at an odd angle, the Runner managed to stay in place. She looked up at him, paying close attention to his features. The short eyebrows. The smooth bronze skin. The dimples below his eyes, which stood prominently as laughed at her wrecked face. At this angle and with the world in havoc around her, he looked kind of handsome. Kind of precious. Kind of hers.

"Is there something on my face? You're looking at me funny."

She did a mental back paddle and gave herself a mental thunk in the head. Her gaze shifted south on instinct. _Idiot_. "It's nothing. Thanks for that Min."

When she looked up at him again, there was an unreadable, almost shocked look on his face. He forced this away with a cocky smirk. "Don't mention it." He patted her head and then he was gone. Alex watched his broad back moving farther and farther away, feeling dreadful and giddy at the same time.

'Alex,' she thought to herself. 'No one should know about this.' There was no denying it. She was starting to remember. And the things she did remember made her like Minho. In fact, she liked him a lot.

* * *

She called him Min. One word. One syllable. Logic told him it was no big deal. It was a reasonable reduction of his name that even Thomas used occasionally. His guts, however, were telling him an entirely different theory. It was a theory so life-changing that it scared him. He didn't want to put into words what his heart dared to hope for. He knew he was grabbing at straws here. His resolve to keep it to himself only lasted for about five minutes. It crumbled when Brenda walked past him. The short-haired girl took one look at him and stopped in her tracks before retracing her steps to stop in front of him.

"Whatever that is you need to spit it out before you choke on it."

He didn't reply. Instead, he stared holes into the ground as he argued with himself on how to best deal with his thoughts.

Brenda tipped her head down so she could look at him in the eye. "Is it about Alex?" When Minho looked at her in surprise, she added, "Subtlety was never your strong point."

"Is it possible for a human brain to heal itself from the effects of the Swipe without any intervention whatsoever?" The question sounded so hopeful that he raced to get it all out before he changed his mind. "You know, no surgery or Grief serum or shuck. Just good 'ol time giving the killzone a chance to heal."

He didn't miss the way the look on Brenda's face softened and he hated it. He didn't want her pity. He wanted answers.

"Brenda, don't give me that look and answer the shucking question."

She shrugged in reply. "I don't know. I doubt anybody does." He didn't bother hiding the crestfallen look on his face. She added quickly, "But you remembered things after a while didn't you?"

"Bits and pieces that don't always make sense."

"Maybe they will. Eventually. Right?"

He nodded, frowning. He walked away before Brenda could say anything else. And as she watched his retreating figure, she thought she got it. The question was no longer about remembering the past. It had been proven possible. The question was, knowing what he knew now, can Minho live up with his decision to move on without Alex and not regret them?

* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**Fluff fest galore right here. This was a loose chapter that I didn't know where to stick. I didn't have the heart to cross it off since I thought the interaction between Minho and Alex was too cute. Cheesy, sure. But cute. Anyhoo, hope you like it.


	27. The Reunion

"This better be good news."

"I'm afraid not all of it is." The man with graying hair stepped inside the room and quickly closed the door behind him, effectively escaping from the sandstorm. Ava Paige scribbled the closing words of her letter, signed it with her full name and turned to look at Hans.

Time had not been kind to him. It had only been a year since she last saw her good friend and yet it looked as though he had aged a decade. The frown lines dug deep into his sun burnt, leathery skin. His hair grew long and unkempt. His eyes had a haunted look within them. Unlike Ava, Hans wasn't fully protected from the horrors brought about the Flare. These were things that will stay with him.

"What do you want to hear first?" he asked, taking a seat in front of her.

"Whichever happened first," she replied.

Hans chuckled, which made her wonder. "You're not going to believe this. We've confirmed Bill's group's current location. They made it out of Denver. Now they're in Paradise."

"...what?"

"That sanctuary that the Flat Trans led Thomas and the rest of the Immunes to? They're there as well. I mentioned it in passing to Bill before all this madness happened but to be honest I never thought they'd manage to get there."

It _was_ good news. It meant her friend and Millie were safe for the time being. Still, the odds of the group stumbling onto the Subjects had been next to none. Hence it was definitely as surprise. Ava gasped as another person came to mind.

"Alexandria."

"Is with them. Swipe intact with no memories of who she was whatsoever." Hans shook his head miserably. "I heard they all thought she was dead. It must have been..._awkward_ to say the least."

Ava didn't know why but she had a sinking feeling that she would eventually have to explain their situation to the two spitfires. It was not going to be pretty.

"That's not even our biggest problem at the moment." Even though there were only two of them in the room, Hans still lowered his voice. "The Right Arm knows their location too."

"What do you mean?" she hissed. "_We _didn't know their location for months! How could they have possibly gotten their hands on this information?"

They already knew about Millie as well. Hans has heard about what they planned to do with these children. With WICKED gone, the Right Arm had shifted their goals. On the top of their list was power, which proved to be the ultimate advantage in their ravaged world. Obtaining a source of the Cure was a definite edge against their rivals.

"It only means one thing, doesn't it? Those bastards have a spy in Paradise."

Hundreds of miles away in the southern border of Paradise, Gally closed the gate with a deadbolt and called it a day.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_A bit short but I thought it's nice to remember that things are still happening outside of Paradise. =)


	28. The Warning

That day, more members of the apothecary than usual had to do the trek to the Green Patch. The fertile piece of land was due for its regular cultivation. On top of that, they had managed to run out of most of the important medicinal herbs on the same week that someone's baby was due to come out. This was enough to put both Brenda and Clint on edge. The apothecarians gave them their word that their Tillers will return with vital goods by sunset. While they geared up for a whole day under the sun, Jaime approached them and told them of his plan.

"Since there's going to be many of you going out there today, I want to make sure things stay on the safe side. Tell Minho to have one of the Navs escort you to the patch. You're not allowed to go out of those gates without a guide." Alex dutifully relayed this message to the Navigation Group, whose members were also preparing for another day-long trip. Their leader nodded in understanding. "Actually he's right. Guess we need to change the game plan."

"Who's coming with us?" one of the tillers asked. Minho shrugged. "I want to," he mumbled, low enough so only Alex could hear. She blushed and bit her lip unconsciously.

'Then come with us,' she wanted to reply, to flirt back the way she secretly wanted to for weeks now. "Paradise is gonna have a field day if you do." She also knew she couldn't afford to be reckless.

Minho rolled his eyes. "Jorge can accompany you shanks. Hermano!" he called out from behind him. "Today's your lucky day. You're going with these earth-loving folks to the patch."

Before Jorge could agree, the blonde-haired girl stopped him with a tap on the arm and stepped forward. "I'll do it."

Both Minho and Alex looked at her in surprise. She sauntered over to the two and stopped between the both of them. She turned to look at Minho, effectively blocking the shorter girl from his view. "We need those herbs but we also need those crops in the west end. I'm not familiar with the trail to get there, not as much as I am with the east trail to the Green Patch. Jorge knows both, so it's going to be safer if I take right and he takes left. Right?"

Minho couldn't argue with Sonya on this one. With the way things were looking, she was the best guide that he could give to them. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself," he said, to which she replied with a lingering kiss on his lips. "Always babe," she whispered. She turned and came face to face with Alex and three other tillers. The dark-haired girl had her eyebrows furrowed, whether from the glare of the sun or from something else she couldn't tell. She wordlessly handed over the Green Patch Map to Sonya, letting her take the lead. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"Alright, let's get going," Sonya chirped, leading the small group eastward. Alex trailed behind and glanced backwards to the Navigation team. Minho gave her a quick wave. Something didn't sit right at the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling that they wouldn't be seeing much of each other for a long time after today.

* * *

The hour-long walk to the Patch was mostly quiet. Every once in a while, the sound of their boots scuffing against the ground and the occasional clearing of someone's throat would break the silent spell. Alex was still trailing behind. Sonya let one of the men take the lead as she let the only other girl in the group to catch up with her.

"Jorge said he spotted a wolf here a few months back. Better stay with the group or risk being dragged into a shrub or something." Alex looked up at her, not expecting the beautiful, fair-haired girl to act so _cordially_ towards her. And she had to admit, she liked it.

"Don't worry. I can scream really loud," she replied, earning a chuckle from Sonya.

"Must be a relief," the blonde continued, "to finally be around other girls after being surrounded by boys for ages. First at the Maze then at Denver."

Honestly, Alex didn't mind. She preferred the boys' brutal frankness over the girls' wordplays and double meanings. "It's a novelty, that's for sure," she replied. "By the way, how'd you know?"

"Minho told me."

"Oh" was all she could say to this. It felt awkward knowing the couple was talking about her. Nowadays, she could barely talk about Minho and Sonya without blushing or squirming in place. Luckily, before they had the chance to discuss the topic further, the patch came into view. Everyone mumbled excitedly among themselves.

"Alright you guys," Sonya called out. "Remember. No one strays out of the patch by himself. We stick together. Good that?"

Sonya could only stare in amusement at the ecstatic yelps from the Tillers. For her, the Green Patch looked just like that: a piece of land with plants in them. Obviously these plants were more precious than she thought. This became clear the moment each Tiller went through his or her own list of herbs and began scouting the place. She began to feel more of a spectator an hour after watching them doing their job. She spotted Alex a couple of meters away, eyebrows drawn together in concentration as her sharp green eyes scouted the ground for the goods. Sonya had an idea.

"Do you have anything for food allergies?" She stopped in front of the other girl. Alex looked up at her in surprise. "You got food allergies?"

Sonya shook her head. "No. But Minho does. And he gets really gassy really quick when he gets it. It drives everyone in the cabin crazy."

"Sounds gross," Alex laughed. She bit her lip in thought, tapping her cheek with her index finger as she tried to recall what might be a good plant to recommend to the suffering girl. "I know," she started. They walked a couple of meters south and stopped in front of a shrub with fine leaves. Alex gathered two clumps with her hands. She stuffed one inside her burlap sack and gave the other one to Sonya. "That should do. If it works on Millie, it will probably work on everybody. I have a couple of chamomiles here too. You can have some."

"I'll get them myself. I found a bunch of them lying around here somewhere."

Alex stopped her with a hand on her forearm. "First rule of the Tillers: Never take all of one kind of plant. Leave some to get more. Does that make sense?" She handed her a small shovel.

"Just about," Sonya mumbled. The former smiled then said with a surprising streak of authority that rivaled her boyfriend's, "Now take this and give me a hand in lining up those babies nice and easy."

* * *

Though the labor had been moderate, the intense heat of the sun made the job more draining than it should. Sonya could feel rivulets of sweat crawling down the length of her back as she and Alex worked side by side in turning the soil over. One older man pulled out tough weeds with calloused hands. The rest of the group strategically replanted the herbs into identifiable clusters to make harvesting easier for them in the future. In between digging and collecting, Alex would pause and take an inventory of every plant she had in tow, making sure she didn't miss anything out.

"You're pretty good at this stuff," Sonya complimented. She paused to catch her breath and leaned against her shovel. "Wouldn't be surprised if you turned out to be a farmer back in the Maze."

"I wasn't," Alex replied. "But I don't mind doing it. In fact I like it. Gets my mind off of things." She realized too late that she had given away too much. Sonya was a smart girl. Even though the blonde didn't say anything, she had a feeling that she knew what Alex meant. Without another word, she tucked the list away and went back into digging.

* * *

Minho had finished dinner and was on his way to their cabin when he spotted Alex by the entrance next door, her back facing him.

"Hey," he called out, not able to stop the smile from tugging at his lips. The girl spun around with an alarmed look on her face. "Hey." She didn't move from her spot by the front door. Neither did Minho. She prayed that he didn't come any closer.

"Looks like you gave Sonya a workout today."

"Really?" she replied, feigning nonchalance. "Didn't look too worked up the last time I saw her."

"Believe me, she was. What did you make her do anyway?" He was about to make his way to their front porch. Alex stopped him.

"Minho look. I'm really tired. I'm clocking out early if that's okay." She was already halfway inside the cabin by the time she finished the last sentence. Disappointment crossed his face.

"Oh. Okay. See you tomorrow then."

Alex looked down, deliberating her answer. "Maybe."

"Goodnight Alex."

"Bye Min."

Minho stood on his spot for a few more moments, confused about Alex's odd behavior. He didn't move until he heard Sonya call out for him from the window. "I'm coming babe."

As soon as she closed the door behind her, Alex tiptoed her way into the room and slipped between the sheets. She bit her lip as guilt racked her insides. She wanted to scream and drink moonshine until she passed out. Her mind reeled back to the conversation she had with Sonya earlier during the day.

It was nearing nightfall and they were heading back to Paradise. Alex and Sonya trailed a couple of meters behind the boisterous group of Tillers. They had been laughing about something she could no longer remember. As soon as their laughter died down, Sonya said, "You're a great person Alex. I like you. And because of that I think you have the right to know the truth."

She looked at the hazel-eyed girl, not sure where Sonya was heading at.

"I don't feel happy seeing you around Minho."

Alex felt like she had been slapped. "...Pardon?"

"Your being here puts a lot of strain in our relationship. Come on, you have to be aware of _that_."

The dark-haired girl had to stop in her tracks. The words struggled to escape her lips. "Sonya. I...I don't know what to say-"

"Say to me that you promise to stay away," Sonya cut in. She turned abruptly, looking down slightly to look at Alex in the eye. "You're no homewrecker, which is why I don't think it will be a problem if I ask you to back down, right?"

Alex said nothing. She could only stare back in shock.

"I'm not stupid," Sonya continued. "I'm not going to deny the fact that he was yours once. There's no changing that. But he's mine _now_. I love him and he loves me. Please keep that in mind the next time you see him. Don't make things harder than they already are."

She felt numb as her head bobbed up and down in agreement.

"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry."

Sonya gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Good to have that settled. Shall we go?"

* * *

Alex grabbed at her hair as a slew of emotions bubbled within her, threatening to spill out of her burning eyes. She had never felt more stupid in her whole life. She felt stupid for allowing herself to act the way she did around someone else's man. She felt stupid for wanted someone else's lover to notice her. And the last and the most shameful truth of them all, she felt stupid for even _entertaining _the thought that perhaps Minho liked her back.

'He shares a bed with Sonya for fuck's sake,' she scolded herself.

'Wake up, idiot. You've lost him already. The same way you've lost the rest of yourself.'

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Believe it or not I actually admire Sonya in this one for standing up for her and Min's relationship's sake. It couldn't have been easy, knowing what she knows and seeing what she sees. Sigh. As for Alex...well, it's not her fault things ended up in this mess but she IS kind of in the way, albeit unintentionally. Because technically, there was no real closure between her and Minho. What are your thoughts on this bit? Lemme know with a review.


	29. Parting Words

"Why the shuck have you been avoiding me?"

The timbre of his voice sent a jolt of electricity from the crown of her head to the heels of her feet. Alex took a deep breath, switched the burner off and turned to look at him. He stood by the entrance of the distillation room wearing his infamous frown.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about." Her voice came out shaky. Right then and there, she knew she had lost.

Minho guffawed at her blatant attempt at lying. "You _really_ have to practice how to lie properly."

Alex rolled her eyes. She grabbed her bag before attempting to dash out of there. Minho wouldn't budge. He solidly blocked the only entrance and exit out of the room.

"Excuse me," she mumbled.

"No," he snapped. "Tell me what's wrong-" he had rested his hands on her shoulders when she quickly slapped them away. She almost looked disgusted. He didn't get it.

"Don't touch me please," she mumbled, gaze downcast.

"What the shuck is going on?" he pressed. If he were to be honest with himself, her aversion from him had hurt, especially since all of it had been so sudden. "You've been acting this way for over a week now since..." It was as though a lightbulb lit up inside his head. "Since that journey to the patch. Led by Sonya."

If it were possible, Alex shrunk back even further. She was running out of ideas on how to escape this obviously angry young man in front of her.

"Did she say anything to you?"

"No. Minho can we please talk about this some other time?"

"No." His voice was louder this time, making Alex lose her temper for one split second. In that small window of time, she lashed out and hit him on the chest with her fists.

"What do you want dammit?!"

"See? One minute you're okay the next you're not. Don't give me that bullklunk Alexandria. Why are you avoiding me?!" This time, he was shouting. He didn't care about the people nearby who scurried hurriedly past the duo, afraid to face the wrath of their well-known tempers.

"Why not?" she shot back, trying to sound just as loud as him. "I want to get on with my life Min! I want to live what's left of it the best way I know how and I just _know_ things won't go in my favor if I don't avoid you."

"I don't understand."

And just like that. She snapped. The dam that was her resolve at keeping a nonchalant facade broke down. Word after word came tumbling out of her mouth. She couldn't stop.

"You're not mine anymore." She laughed wryly at how ridiculous the statement sounded. "You've moved on. I've lost you along with everything else and I thought I've accepted that." She bit her lip, overcome with shame with what she was about to say. "I want to be happy for you but I _can't_. Because everytime I see you with her I keep thinking that should be _me_ and you have no idea how ashamed I am to feel that way. Every time I look at you, I'm constantly being reminded that I never had a choice. And dammit, I can't even _fight _for you anymore because all I have are these stupid feelings and no memories. I don't remember why I like you or how it happened. I'm just...really I'm just the new kid who is in the shucking way of the two of you. There. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Minho was at a loss for words. Emotions had never been his forte. And while a tiny part of him perked up upon hearing that Alex did feel something for him after all, he was also devastated at how right she was in avoiding him. He was with Sonya. He knew he shouldn't be chasing after someone else but he couldn't stop himself. His impulses always got the best of him. WICKED never prepared him for this.

"I'm done pretending Min. I can't go on acting like I'm okay with all of this because I'm not. Leave me alone."

"So that's it. Just when things are coming back down to you, you avoid it like the shucking plague."

"That's the plan." She wiped the tears that had threatened to spill down her cheeks. She cursed inwardly, feeling so shallow for crying over a petty crush, a petty crush which felt bigger than Paradise itself if she was being honest to herself.

"What's gonna happen to us?"

Her head snapped up at the question. Green eyes blazed with anger as she glared at him.

"You're fucking Sonya. Not me. There is no us." She pushed him out of the way and this time he let her go. He didn't move until he could no longer hear her footsteps pounding on the ground. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. Instead, he just stood there staring at the worktable she stood by earlier, wondering just how screwed up their lives had become.

Alex kept her word after all. She found him. And slowly but surely she was coming back. Unfortunately for her, Minho had not been able to wait.

During one of their worse rows, Sonya had asked him the question they had both avoided all those times.

"What is it with her? What did she give to you that _I _didn't, huh? Please enlighten me. Why am I not good enough?"

Minho knew she knew why. The answer was simple. It was also very painful. So he didn't say anything about it.

The question was never about what Alex gave him. It was what he gave to her, what he asked her to keep long before all this crap hit the fan, what he, Minho, never got back even after she was taken away from him.

* * *

Sonya learned a few things about Minho by sharing a bed with him. One, he rarely snored, which was a good thing. Two, he often talked in his sleep. There had been instances when she knew a day's worth of navigation plans in advance because he had recited all of it in bed the night before. Three, he always slept on his back. True, they loved to cuddle, especially after an hour of heated action. But she could always tell the moment he slips into dreamland. No matter how badly they managed to tangle themselves to each other, he always broke free and rolled on his back after a couple of minutes, breathing deep and even while everything else about him became dead to the world.

That night she fell asleep with him spooning her from behind. His chest pressed against her back. His knees were tucked under hers. When she woke up in the wee hours of the morning, she was surprised to still feel him against her. His breath fanned her neck.

"Baby. You awake?" she asked. He stirred and buried his face deeper against the crook of her neck. His right arm tightened against her waist. "Did you manage to sleep at all?" she whispered in the dark.

"Nu-uh."

"What?" She turned so that her body was facing him. The moon was bright enough for her to make out his grayed features. His eyes were closed. Had he not been lying on his side, she would have thought he was merely sleeptalking.

"Tell me what's wrong," she pleaded, caressing the side of his face with a smooth palm. "What can I do?"

"I've been doing a shitty job at being your boyfriend nowadays, haven't I?"

When she didn't reply, his eyes fluttered open to meet her gaze. He mimicked her gesture and lightly traced her cheek with his hand.

"Well," she cleared her throat, "now that you mentioned it..."

They both chuckled at this. He planted a kiss on her forehead and rested his chin on top of her head, pulling her closer into a tight embrace.

"I'm trying Sonya. I'm trying."

"I know you are," she mumbled against his shirt. "And I love you for that."

As expected, his reply was a deep and passionate kiss. It made her thought about Fact Number Four: He never said "I love you" back. Not to her anyway.

She felt his breathing getting heavier. Knowing what this meant, she fumbled with his back until she found the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. His lips left hers only to attack her neck a second later. Sonya closed her eyes and tried to lose herself with the feel of him against her.

He was trying. She had that. He was trying to give her the love she deserved.

Before all coherent thoughts left her, an old saying from deep within her memory came to cross her thoughts. It disappeared as quickly as it came.

_But you can't give what you don't have._

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Oh boy. That's way too complicated.


	30. Totems

"You miss him."

"I do not. He's our neighbor. I see him everyday. What's there to miss?"

"Dunno. But if you don't, then why does your head swivel all over the place every five minutes?"

"I'm looking for Millie."

"You know damn well where Millie is."

Alex let out a low growl and rolled her eyes upwards. It was breakfast time and she was sharing a table with Cole. The dark-haired boy noticed how off-beat she had been acting for the past couple of days. On top of that, gossip about the shouting match she had with Minho in the apothecary had spread throughout town like wildfire. The details were vague, the way details usually were with gossips. Cole had tried many times to get the petite girl to tell him what it was about. So far for him, it had been as hard as pulling out teeth. Minho had kept mum about it as well.

"They're still by the gates if you're interested - "

Alex banged her fists on the tables surface. "Nikolai de Silva!"

"I'm just saying," he shot back defensively, palms raised up against the shaking girl in front of him. "Nothing wrong with trying to help."

"You want to help?" Green eyes glared angrily at him. "Shut up."

There was a long pause before Cole started up again. "Just let me get this out and I'll shut up." Alex gave him an exasperated look. He continued carefully, "Whatever it is you two are trying to do, it ain't working. Avoiding something won't make it go away. You should know that by now."

She remained quiet, shifting her gaze into her lukewarm vegetable stew. Cole had a point. But at this moment in time, avoiding each other seemed to be the best thing that they could do.

During the past couple of days, the two had gone through great lengths to avoid each other. Alex holed up in the apothecary, only coming out to eat and check on Millie. She even asked other members of the Tillers to do some field work in the Patch for her, which was something which she used to love doing. Minho on the other hand ran for more hours than necessary. He started early and came back late, sometimes skipping dinner and heading straight into their cabin to fall into a deep stupor.

"Minho skipping dinner?" Frypan asked in disbelief on the first night he did this. "Is he sick or something?"

Isabel chuckled at this. "Lovesick is more like it." By then, the entire village had heard about how he confronted Alex in the apothecary. Since neither of the two commented on the incident, the gossip lost steam and died down.

* * *

That day had started out with one of those early runs. Thomas kissed Brenda on the cheek, bidding farewell. Ever since Minho had started binge-running, he had been the only one who could keep up with him.

"Keep an eye on him, okay?" Brenda reminded him with a low voice. Thomas smiled and nodded. "I will." They talked about it a couple of nights ago, how the former Runner was too proud to admit that something or someone was bothering him so. However, they both knew him too well to know that on the inside, the shank was a wreck. He needed to get the misery out of his system. Knowing his volatile temper, Thomas knew it would do him good to have someone to pacify those outburts when they happened. Also, it would do everyone else a lot of good if said outburts happened well away from the village, since they could get quite disturbing. The solution was to allow him to run himself to exhaustion and for Thomas to stay at his side while he beat himself up.

The prodigy stopped beside Minho and they watched in silence as Gally maneuvered the gate open. The snub-nosed boy nodded at them.

"Be careful. Don't die."

Minho chuckled at this. Thomas mumbled "Deja vu" under his breath. A moment later, the two were jogging out of the confines of Paradise.

* * *

"Whoa."

There was the loud clatter of things smashing on the ground. Cole turned around to see that Alex had stopped on her tracks. Random items had fallen out of her bag and had scattered on the ground. He had knelt down and had begun picking her stuff up before she even noticed what had happened. Gingerly, she followed suit.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing the stunned look on her face.

"Yeah," she replied, not meeting his gaze. She was telling the truth. It was just that a moment ago, an odd sensation came over her. It felt like an icy hand came up from her stomach to squeeze hard at her heart. The jagged scar over it throbbed uncomfortably as her palpitations continued.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm clumsy, alright? That's nothing new."

The young man shrugged and didn't think more about it. After putting her stuff back in her bag, they made their way in the cabin, ready to call it a day.

* * *

She was helping Millie into his sleeping clothes when an urgent knock came from the door. Bill opened it to find a breathless Leo standing outside.

"Is Jorge here?" he asked. The burly man in his mid-thirties appeared from his room with a stoic look on his face. "What do you want?"

"Harriet found totems in the trail," Leo said. Alex didn't miss the way the single sentence made Jorge recoil as though alarmed.

"Is she absolutely sure?"

Leo locked eyes with Alex. The icy hand came to grip at her chest once again. "Positive."

Without another word, Jorge put on his boots and marched out of the cabin. Alex followed suit. She could see people crowding by the main gate, surrounding the afro that could only belong to Harriet. The crowd parted to let Jaime and Elliot get near her. In the process, she managed to catch a glimpse of the look of dread on the former leader's face and the two objects in her hands. One hand held on to a piece of string with a single black bead threaded through it. Another hand held on to a long piece of cloth bandage. She saw the way Sonya's hands flew up to her mouth. The rest of the group grew silent.

"Are those the totems?" she asked Jorge who stood beside her. He gave her a look that said it all.

"Well what do they mean?"

Ever since the threat of the Right Arm came to their knowledge, the Navigation Team thought of a way to signal their comrades in case one of them got taken or had experienced grave danger. They all agreed to carry a totem with them at all times, small unassuming objects unique to each Navigator that wouldn't catch the attention of the people who didn't know what they were and where to find them. They trained among themselves on how to leave and spot these objects in the middle of the vast lands they run through, in case their worst fears were confirmed. Up until then, their existence had been a well-kept secret among the Guards and the Navigators.

Jorge wanted to put it in the simplest way possible for Alex. "It means Navs have been taken or attacked. Or both. My guess is by the Right Arm."

A sense of dread filled her stomach at the mention of the armed group. It was the same group of power-hungry men that they had ran away from, the men whom they thought they would never have to see again. Scarier than the thought of these men hiding right outside the walls of Paradise was the knowledge that they had taken people with them, most likely people she knew.

"Who were taken Jorge?" It was almost a whisper. The older man bowed his head solemnly.

"Jorge," she said, sterner this time.

Tired brown eyes met nervous green ones.

"Please. Tell me."

'It can't be. Please...it can't be.'

"The necklace and the bandage," he replied. "Those belong to Thomas and Minho."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_Gasp! So yeah...trouble is brewing.


	31. An Old Familiar Face

The first thing that hit him was the pain. It throbbed from his right temple and radiated down the base of his skull. It made him squint as soon as he opened his eyes. With a loud groan, he lifted his heavy head from the ground and pulled himself into a sitting position. It didn't take long for him to notice that something was very wrong with his situation. Rough material bit at his wrists which were bound tightly behind his back. His legs were straightened out in front of him. And as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could see thick rope encircling his ankles.

"Thank God you're awake."

He turned at the black space in front of him and waited until Thomas' silhouette came to view. Like him, he was also sitting on the floor. His elbows were angled awkwardly, as though his hands were stuck behind him.

"Thomas," he croaked. His throat was bone dry. He didn't realize until then how thirsty he was. "Shit." He squeezed his eyes shut as he racked his brain for any memories of the events prior to waking up in this dark hole.

"Minho are you alright? Say something will you?" Thomas asked worriedly.

"Shut up," he replied. "I'm trying to remember what happened." And he did.

_They had settled down under a shade many miles out of the safe zone for a break. Thomas ventured out to take a piss and didn't come back. Minho waited for many minutes until he realized that something was off. He decided to trace his friend's tracks. A couple of turns later, he saw a man lying prone on the barren ground. Blood oozed from the wound on his back. He looked like he had been shot. His only consolation was that the man had dark blonde hair._

_It wasn't Thomas._

_"Put your hands up and turn around nice and slow," an unfamiliar voice called out from behind._

_Minho froze as adrenaline flooded his veins, numbing him all over. He knew that feeling all too well. It only meant one thing: He was in really deep klunk. He refused to budge._

_"Minho," Thomas called out, making the Runner's heart sink further. "Do what you're told for once."_

_Scratch that. _They _were in really deep klunk._

_He saw Thomas flanked by two armed men. Both of them carried rifles as did the five other men behind them. The blonde man in front of group also had a rifle. But he had it casually slung around his shoulders, as though he knew he had no real use for it, especially since at least three of his posse had theirs aimed at him._

_"Vince," Minho spat. "Let Thomas go."_

_The man named Vince sauntered forward until he stood inches in front of him. He was shorter than the younger boy by a few inches. But the leader of the Right Arm had a bulkier built which was riddled with scars and muscles. It was a body made for combat, a body of a killer._

_"Can't do that right now, kiddo. Don't worry, wherever it is we're taking him, you're going too."_

_"What do you want, shuckface?"_

_Vince chuckled at the nickname before spitting on the ground by his feet. "You'll find out soon enough. I have a feeling you know all about it anyway. Now please. Don't fight us. I don't want to put another one down today."_

_He glanced back at the dead body which was sprawled on the ground a couple of yards away. The satchel bag that the man wore had spilled open. Bits of fruits and plants poured out of it._

_The man was a farmer. Minho knew there was no way in hell the unfortunate soul could have put up that much of a fight. It only meant one thing. They had taken him down like a sitting duck._

_Dark eyes shifted to look at Thomas' neck. The beaded necklace which he always wore around it was nowhere to be found. The Nav had dropped his totem. Thomas read Minho's mind and gave the slightest nod._

_'You know what to do.'_

_Without blinking, he threw a left hook on Vince's jaw, sending him sprawling on the ground. Three men from the group pounced after him. He fought back with everything he got. He took hits, only to give them back harder. There was a few seconds when he was able to slip out of the circle of Right Arm members. With a sleight of hand, he dropped a long strip of bandage to the ground and spat a wad of blood on it, making sure that the Nav who found it got his desperate message:_

_Save our shucked souls._

_Minho was subdued by the time the fourth man jumped in to help. He was pushed to the ground, its sharp rocks cutting against the skin on his knees._

_"Shit." He looked up straight into the barrel of a gun. A random thought came to mind, just when he thought the thing would go off and take his brains with it._

_'I forgot to say goodbye. Alex, I'm so sorry.'_

_"We need him!" Someone shouted, though he barely heard him._

_To his surprise, the barrel disappeared and was replaced with the butt of a rifle. It floated back a couple of inches before thrusting back his way, hitting him in the temple. Everything went black after that._

"You overdid the whole distraction thing don't you think?" Thomas said, bringing him out of his throbbing thoughts. "You almost got yourself killed, slinthead."

"Didn't you listen to what he said? They needed us," he pointed out. "He wasn't going to allow us to get killed."

"For now," Thomas mumbled.

Both boys groaned when bright amber light filled the entire place, hurting their eyes with its glare. It was only then that Minho realized where they were. They were in some sort of cave.

'Must be within the mountains,' he thought. In a way he was relieved. They were miles away from the Village. There was no risk of an innocent Tiller stumbling into them and right into danger.

Vince appeared from the corner, bringing with him a flaming torch. He stopped in front of the two boys who had grown still when they realized that they weren't alone.

"You bastard," Thomas said in a low voice. "Why are you doing this?"

The older man's face remained blank. He gave each boy a lingering look before going over to one corner to prop the torch on the stone wall.

"Believe it or not I wish there was another way. All this violence makes me feel like a Crank." He pulled out a canteen from his sling bag and took a swig of water. Then he went over to Thomas and offered it to him. The seventeen-year old pursed his mouth shut. He went over to Minho and did the same. The Runner finished the remaining water in it with deep, long gulps. Thomas rolled his eyes at this. Vince looked back at him and smiled.

"You snooze you lose." There was a long pause punctuated by a loud burp from Minho.

"Let's cut the bullshit shall we?" Vince said. "You guys known damn well why I'm here."

"You want something we have," Minho replied. "Story of your life."

"Minho," Thomas warned.

Vince gave him a stiff smile, which never quite reached his eyes. "True. Only this time, the stakes are higher."

"In what way?" Thomas asked cautiously.

"In many ways. After all, it's the fucking Cure we're talking about."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I'm encountering a glitch in my stats. My hits keep reading zero, even though someone has come and reviewed on that chapter. *shrugs* So I absolutely have no idea how you guys are talking this chaps. Do you like it? What needs to be improved? Please help me by letting me know. Hit the Rev Button! Thanks!


	32. Where Loyalties Lie

Paradise was in chaos. News about the missing Navigators had spread all over the small village. Not long after Harriet's arrival, many of the villagers had gone out to the streets chatting nervously amongst themselves. Some of them, led by Brenda, marched their way to the doorstep of the First House and started demanding answers. The two remaining leaders had a hard time controlling the mob of scared and angry villagers. Harriet, who had experience on leading a big group, elbowed her way though the crowd towards Jaime and Elliot.

"Listen sticks, you both need to get your shit together right now and think of something fast or you'll be having mass hysteria in your hands." Elliot nodded in reply. "I'm thinking of having a gathering with the whole village. We have to tell them everything we know as of the moment."

The sixteen-year old agreed. When she turned to Jaime, she noticed that the former doctor looked doubtful. "It will scare them, won't it?"

"Jaime, look around you," she replied. "They're already scared. The best we can do now is tell them what it is that they should be scared of."

Jaime ran a sweaty hand through his face. He didn't want to admit it but Harriet had a point. He didn't want to admit it because he had absolutely no idea how to find a solution for this catastrophe that they had been dealt with. Behind the petite girl, he saw Leo straining his neck to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Give me a minute," he said to Harriet and signaled to the leader of the Guards to come towards him. He dragged the tall boy to a secluded spot of the Council Room.

"The villagers heard the news from the Navs themselves," Leo said worriedly. "They already know the truth. They're all just waiting to be told what to do."

Jaime sighed in despair. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."

"It's the truth. And one more thing." Leo looked around to make sure they were alone. He added, "They might not notice it now but Loki is gone. He's one of the Tillers. We're three people short as we speak."

"Right. This is a nightmare."

"Are you going to tell them that too?"

Jaime took his time in answering. "I'll have to think about that first. Before everything else, I need to know. What weapons do we have to protect ourselves huh?"

Leo looked down, seemingly ashamed of himself. "We have dozens of spears and makeshift knives in the shed. Remember when we had a Right Arm scare a couple of months back? That was when my men and I started making them."

The brunette doctor's face lit up upon hearing this. But the bearded teenager was quick to shoot him down. "Don't kid yourself though. We can cut down all the shuck trees around to build all the spears we could but they still won't be enough to protect us from those guys. I've seen them before. They have sniper rifles and automatics with them. If they choose to, they could easily conjure a massacre."

"We're practically sitting ducks."

Leo looked up at Jaime's grim statement. "Yeah but I don't think you ought to tell them that in your great leader speech."

* * *

Jaime's message, which he delivered in the Town Square, told them what they already knew. Two members of the Navigation Team, namely Thomas and Minho, had been abducted. The identities of the attackers were yet to be confirmed but there were many reasons to believe that they could be members of the Right Arm. A collective shudder ran throughout the crowd. Everyone remembered what the renegade group had put them through. First, they were abducted and sold to WICKED to continue the Trials. And then there was abysmally low blow of the men nearly dropping a building over their heads for a cause that they could not understand. It went without saying that this time, it was official: the danger was real.

"If it's the Right Arm who has them then we need to send help asap!" Clint exclaimed from the sidelines. It was the first time that everyone had heard him speak up publicly. "I've seen what those slintheads can do. They're ruthless!"

"Look around you kid," one of the older villagers shot back. "We have sticks and wooden fences against their guns. We're in enough danger as it is. We need all the fighters that we have in _here,"_ he emphasized his point by pointing his index finger downwards.

"What?!"

"You're shucking us right?"

"He has a point admit it."

"For all we know they're heading this way as we speak and those two could be dead by now."

Within seconds, the crowd erupted into shouts and arguments. There were those who chose to think pragmatically and thought that all the Guards and Navs should stay put. Most of the younger people, particularly the subjects from WICKED were raring to head out and get the two back to safety.

"Bastards. Those two fought tooth and nail for these people and this is how they repay them?" Cole spat. He stood behind the throng of people with Bill and Alex at his side.

"Jaime!" Brenda called out. The nurse was livid. She shook with anger. "Whatever it is you decide to do in the next minute, better choose your words carefully. There wouldn't have been a Village to attack in the first place if it wasn't for those two. You _know _that."

Silence stretched as the two remaining leaders deliberated for an answer. Jaime turned to Elliot who looked just as lost as he was.

"Say something guys," one member of the crowd pleaded.

Elliot was the first to speak. "Thomas and Minho are brave. We all know that. They have done countless things for this Village. Like what you said," he turned to a now teary-eyed Brenda, "this Village never would've come to existence without their vital contributions...which is why I think it would be for the best interest of everyone if the rest of us stay together and defend this Village the best way we can."

Cries of anguish and protests erupted from members of Group A and B who were scattered in the crowd.

"Just so you know they're not the only ones who went missing today!" Elliot added angrily. "We're doing what we can to keep the rest of you safe!"

"Except you can't," a deep voice replied. It was Gally. "Keeping us confined here within these wooden walls ain't going to keep us safe, shank. I've worked with those men before. I know how their minds work. You want to be safe from them? The right way to do it is to make sure they don't know where you are."

A ripple of murmurs ran throughout the crowd for the second time.

"Maybe it's just me being pessimistic. But the way I see it, I'll be dead anyway if I stay here. Might as well go out there and give saving those slintheads a shot. I'll be safer that way."

"I think we've finally agreed on something, Gally," Brenda replied as she walked over to her side. "Count me in."

Soon, more people came to stand behind Gally's cause.

"Are you kids actually stupid enough to believe him or have you forgotten what he told you just now?" Elliot spat. "He is one of them."

"I _worked _with them you dumb shuck. I was never one of them. Know the difference." Gally's nose flared in anger at the blonde's accusation. "I would never allow myself to kill anyone for whatever reason." Then with a low voice that only he could hear, he added, "Not anymore." Over a year ago, he had sworn to himself that Chuck would be the first and last person to die with his hands.

"You might want to reconsider if a member of the Right Arm aims a gun at your face," Sonya suggested, making the Keeper of the Builders roll his eyes. He turned to Brenda, Harriet, Sonya, Cole and Jorge, the brave few who had decided that they wanted to head out of Paradise and find the missing Navigators.

"Look, if you don't trust me enough to be with the group that's fine. But I am going out there to try and save them. I may have hated those shanks before but they're still family."

"Quit talking and suit up," Jorge replied. "You're coming with us."

* * *

Begrudgingly, the two village leaders came to a conclusion. The six volunteers were to head out and attempt to rescue Thomas and Minho. The rest of them who were strong and old enough to fight were to stay behind and try to defend the lives they had created for themselves.

The rag tag team was in the Council Room, studying the maps and looking for the most likely place that the two would have been hidden. Harriet and Sonya, being the most experienced among the six of them, came to the same conclusion. They zeroed in on the mountains, which were less than twenty kilometers further north. They planned to start the search there.

"Consider it useful wisdom left behind by Teresa," Harriet said, exchanging knowing looks with Sonya. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this particular wisdom though," the blonde mumbled wryly. Brenda stared at the two in disbelief.

"Am I missing something?" Gally asked.

Before anyone could answer him, a loud knock came from the front door. It opened, revealing a very disheveled Alex. Her intense gaze scanned each one of them.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" Brenda asked. She understood. The younger girl looked as terrible as she felt.

"I want in," she said. Her voice sounded scratchy and tired. Harriet stared at her, dumbstruck. Gally looked away, not knowing what to say.

"Did you hear me?" she said again, this time louder. "Whatever it is you shanks plan to do, I'm doing it too."

"You can't," Sonya replied flatly.

"I'm not asking."

"Honey," Jorge started. He walked over to the dark-haired girl. Upon closer look, he noticed that she was shaking. "I know you know why we can't take you with us. This mission is dangerous enough as it is. And I don't want to say this but you're just going to slow us down. You're a liability."

Alex ran a trembling hand through her hair. "C'mon Jorge, I'm not that helpless. I'm no warrior but I _can _help. Please trust me on this one. Listen," she added quickly before he could interrupt her, "Me and Cole, we've been inside the cave system of those mountains before. We hid there for a couple of weeks." She spoke so rapidly that the words came out pressured.

Cole bit his tongue, not wanting to blurt out the number of times Alex got lost in those caves. Going back there was nearly as good as suicide for her if none of them kept an eye on her.

"I can help!" Alex insisted.

"Jesus woman what's wrong with you? Are you listening to yourself?" Sonya blurted out, slamming her palms against the wooden table that the maps laid on.

"Control your stupid little crush for once. Don't ask us to get killed because of you!"

"Sonya," Harriet gently pulled her away but the livid blonde shrugged her off.

"Tell me you home-wrecking bitch, what is it this time huh?" she asked, walking over to Alex. Jorge held her back just before she could reach the half-insane Alex and start a catfight. "What excuse have you come up this time so you can throw yourself at _my _man again? Go on. Tell us."

"It's not that, Sonya. Please understand..." Anyone could tell that the slight girl was struggling to keep it together. Cole was worried. It was the first time that he saw Alex lacking her usual composure. They been in several life-or-death situations in the past and she had always been the more levelheaded between the two of them.

"I have to help them I...I have to help him."

"What is it then?" Sonya bit back, rage filling her hazel eyes. "Why are you so desperate to bend over backwards for him the first chance you get?!"

"BECAUSE HE WOULD DO THE SAME FOR ME!" Alex screamed before clamping her mouth with her hand. The room fell into deafening silence. Gally looked up at her.

A few seconds passed before she mustered the courage to continue. "He wouldn't think twice of sticking his neck out to save me and he has proven that many times before. In WICKED. In the Maze." She locked eyes with Gally. He knew well what she was talking about. He had been there when three Gladers left her for dead in the Maze. Minho had been her sole rescuer.

"Because he was supposed to have my back and I was supposed to have his. I can't fail him...not after everything he's done...not now," Alex mumbled, blinking back tears. "I'm trying to figure out where to start. Please, _please _let me help him!"

"Alex, come with me." Cole didn't wait for a reply. He took her firmly by the elbow and dragged her out of the room full of stunned Navs. They walked until they reached the empty lot behind the First House near the spot where, ironically, Alex caught Minho beating the crap out of Thomas after he confessed to killing Newt. She shook her arm out of his grasp and began pacing back and forth in, mumbling to herself.

"Get yourself together," he scolded her. "This isn't like you. Come on-"

"I can't!" she shrieked, not stopping her pacing. Wild green eyes glared at Cole. "I can't because it's...because it's Minho, alright?" She was falling apart. There was no use hiding it.

Cole stepped forward and enveloped her into a hug, suddenly feeling guilty for snapping at her. It was clear to him now. He was demanding her to do the one thing she couldn't do at the moment. She felt stiff against his arms. It took a minute for her body to relax. And then the shaking came back, this time stronger than ever. She buried her face against his chest.

"I'm not like him Cole," she sobbed. "I don't know what to do...I don't know how to help him, I don't-"

"Stop it," he interrupted, squeezing her tighter against him. He kissed the top of her head before resting his chin on it. "Those boys are as tough as nails. If there's one thing we're sure of, it's that those two don't die easy."

Alex nodded against his chest. "God, I was so angry at him. You know, the last time we talked, it was so bad. If anything happens to them, to him-"

He pushed her at an arm's length to meet her gaze.

"I can't promise his safety. No one can. What I _can _promise you is that I will bring that arrogant dick and his smartass friend back in this Village, even if I have to drag them by the foot to do so." He looked away for a few seconds before locking his gaze back at her. "A favor for a favor though. You need to do something for me."

Piercing green met calculating blue.

_Anything._

"Say it."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_Sorry for the late update. I was on three consecutive night shifts (you don't even want to talk to me after these said shifts). I planned to post this one after the third shift finished but as some of you might have noticed, FF dot net was down for a few days. I couldn't access my account, much less post a chapter. Everyone was mad, mad, mad. I was...uh...sleeping. Don't be too hard you guys, please review anyway! More of Minho and Thomas on the next chappie.

PS: For those of you who are disappointed that Alex wasn't part of the rescue squad I'm sorry to disappoint. Let's be realistic though, she doesn't have much to offer to get the rescue job done. The girl's a Healer, not a Soldier. *shrugs* Lemme know your thoughts tho. A review would be ossum!


	33. The Discovery

"You guys ready?" Vince asked, eyeing the two bound boys in front of him.

"I'm still thirsty," Minho replied.

Vince continued, "Six months into the Trials, Ava Paige and a select number of her elite crew stumbled upon a panacean discovery. They called it the Torch gene. So far we only know two things about it. First, it is possessed by an even smaller subgroup of the already rare population of humans who are Immune to the Flare virus, Munies like us." Minho and Thomas exchanged intrigued looks. "Second, this is the gene that produces the relatively young generation of humans who have the Cure running through their veins. Ava nicknamed them Torch babies. Quite catchy, if you ask me."

"Huh." Minho retreated further in his cocoon of numbness. He had to admit, he felt more than a bit heartbroken upon hearing Vince's report. It confirmed one of his worst fears. The Trials were a flop. Nature took it upon herself to produce a natural cure for the Flare. His friends had died for nothing. _He _went through all that klunk for nothing.

"Great," Thomas replied after a long pause. "Why exactly to do you have to ambush us to tell us this?"

"The files containing information about this substance were destroyed before my contact got his hands on them. Ava and her colleagues went into hiding shortly after. All operations of the Trials were left mostly to Janson who, quite frankly, did not know shit. From then on, she only communicated to the remaining WICKED scientists via correspondence. Her whereabouts remained unknown. She became a ghost." Vince turned to the dark-haired boy on his left. He went over to him and squatted down to meet his brown-eyed gaze.

"I need to know more about this Torch gene, Thomas," he said in an eerily calm voice. "I need to know how to detect them among Immunes and most importantly, how to successfully extract the Cure from these kids. Intel says you might be able to tell me a thing or two about these things."

"Sorry bud. But your intel got it wrong this time," Thomas confessed. "I don't know anything about this Torch gene. If I did, I don't remember it."

"What will it take for you to remember?" Vince pressed.

The younger boy pretended to think long and hard. "Nothing. I've been stung before. My Swipe is as good as reversed." It was a lie, of course. The Griever sting only brought portions of his memory back. He parted ways with most old memories the moment Hans took his Swipe out without reversing it. He hoped Vince didn't know about that little fact.

The blonde pursed his lips. Thomas could tell he was more than a little pissed at this roadblock. A second later, he bolted up and went over to Minho. The Runner grunted in pain as Vince grabbed a fistful of his hair and aimed an sharp object at the pulse on his neck. It was a detached stinger of a Griever.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Thomas screamed in alarm. "Minho!"

"Let me go you shuck!" Minho snapped, urging Vince to pull his head back further and pressed the sharp metal harder against the skin of his neck.

"How about this, Thomas?" Vince shouted back. "Will this help you remember?!"

"I swear Vince! I don't know anything about the Cure! You have to believe me. I didn't even know it existed until-" He bit his tongue before he gave too much away.

The leader of the Right Arm smiled menacingly. "You mean until you met Millie? Elliot told me about him. Dammit, to think I had that little bastard in my hands before all this mess happened..."

Minho felt the numbness consume him. It was disturbed by the dull throb of anger that he felt within him. Elliot, one of the town leaders, was involved with the Right Arm. He had betrayed them all this time and as always, none of them were the wiser.

'I'll kill that sonuvabitch,' Minho swore to himself. The shallow idiot was his first target the minute he escaped from his captives, that he was sure of. The question now was how will he and Thomas escape from the cave. The rope around his wrists cut through his skin but it didn't stop him from straining against it.

'Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of here.' The words repeated in his head like a mantra. An unexplainable sense of urgency pushed him to escape as soon as possible. Years of running the Maze had taught him to believe his gut instincts. At that moment his guts were telling him that something bad was about to happen. And they will be smack in the middle of it if they don't escape soon.

"By the way," Vince's voice broke through his mind's angry haze. "We're taking that kid with us. And that Crank. And that girl for good measure. She seems to know things."

Minho's anger turned to rage. The bastard had the gall to threaten her. He struggled under his grasp. "If you touch her, I swear to God-"

"Swear to God what?" the older man mocked. "In case you didn't notice, no God can hear you in this part of hell."

"Calm down shank," Thomas murmured. He turned to the armed man standing above Minho. "Please Vince, leave him out of this. He doesn't know anything."

Vince grabbed the Runner by the chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. "You didn't have your Swipe reversed didn't you? Could it be that you have something I need and conveniently forgot about it?"

"That's impossible," Thomas butted in. "He was a Subject, not one of the scientists."

Vince let him go and sauntered over to Thomas, twirling the huge stinger in his hand. "Is that so?"

"Positive," the young boy replied firmly. Vince raised his eyebrow and shook his head. "You obviously do not know a lot of things Thomas."

In one fluid motion, he turned on his back to face the kneeling Minho and jabbed the stinger in his chest. The Runner was too stunned to do anything. White hot pain erupted in his chest, spreading all over his body like liquid fire surging through his veins. From a distance, he could hear Thomas screaming in terror. It was drowned by Vince who whispered close to his ear.

"Ava's notes said you were a major source of information in the discovery. Hope this clears things up a bit."

Minho attempted to struggle away from him but was held in place by a firm hold on the back of his neck. The liquid fire was spreading up to his chest, to his neck and to his face. He couldn't breathe.

"Don't resist it. You'll make things harder than they already are. Let me know when you're ready to tell me everything." Minho groaned in pain as Vince pushed the metal deeper in his chest, ripping muscles and tendons in its wake.

"Goddam you Vince! Goddam you!" Thomas screamed, struggling against his binds. In the amber glow of the torch, he watched in horror as dark veins appeared in Minho's arms, steadily crawling up to his neck and face. The Runner gagged and threw up a thick black liquid inches away from Vince's feet.

"And do me a favor will you?" Vince continued casually. "I know you have a lot of rage inside you, Minho. Give in to it. Kill everyone in the way...for me."

The metal twisted abruptly inside him, causing an unbearable amount of pain to rake through his body. He managed to gasp before his eyes rolled to the back of his skull and he fell limply to the ground. Coursing through this bloodstream was a nearly lethal amount of Griever venom wrecking havoc in his body and in his killzone.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_I wanted to write more but I got called in to do a night shift. So I guess the next chapter has to be put off for the next few days. Sorry guys. BTW TST will be showing on the 10th from where I'm staying. Yay! You think I should wait for it before I post the next chapter? It's not that far ahead.

Lemme know about your thoughts alright? A review would be ossum!


	34. Phobia

Alex may not be able to remember this but the horrors she experienced at a tender age coupled with the years she spent in WICKED's facility made her afraid of a lot of things. She was afraid of the dark. She was afraid of enclosed spaces. She as afraid of the gas masks worn by the field men whenever they headed out to the Scorch, of spiders and sharp objects and hunger. She was no stranger to fear. And fear never failed to visit and haunt her every chance it got.

Minho's reaction to loss and grief was the opposite. Death turned him into a warrior. He strove long and hard so that he no longer had to feel the helplessness that he felt the day those men took him to WICKED. He fought violence with violence. He didn't take prisoners. He never apologized.

She was aware of how opposite they were in this aspect. While it didn't take much for her to break into a sweat with fear, Minho's greatest weakness remained a mystery, not just to her but to most of the scientists studying him. The only things that could jumpstart the boy's heartbeat were running and a brawl in the cafeteria. After a while, she thought that perhaps nothing scared her bestfriend. Maybe some people were just born that way. Little did she know that she was about to find out how wrong she was, nor did she know at that time how big of a role she played on that pivotal discovery.

* * *

It was the middle of the year, in the first week of that three-month gap when Alex and Minho were of the same age. They were both fourteen then. A couple of days back, the Subjects had been informed that they will undergo yet another one of WICKED's numerous tests.

"I can only imagine what it is that they want to measure now," Minho groaned to the girl on his right. "The only thing I could think of that they haven't quantified yet is how far I can make my piss fly."

"You're disgusting," Alex quipped.

The two teenagers were sitting on the edge of the suspended footpath on the way to the Wire Room. Both let their feet dangle in the air while they rested their elbows on the metal railing in front of them. The very visible fifty-foot drop used to make the green-eyed girl queasy. But with Minho's insistence, she managed to get over the uncomfortable stir in her guts and sit beside him.

She thought about the test that he was talking about. "Hey, I remember something," she started. "I think Julia mentioned that to us as well." Julia was the Medics' manager. "We're helping out with the data gathering." She turned to him and smiled.

"Neat," he grinned back. "Gather _my_ data."

She shrugged and nodded yes. "But if it's about your urine though, I'm out."

* * *

The room was too white. The lingering scent of bleach irritated her nose. Every nook and cranny of the bare space shone with cleanliness. She looked down at her all-white attire of long-sleeved pullovers and cotton pants, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Everything looked too perfect. She had been a prisoner of WICKED long enough to know that it was an expert of providing the perfect settings when its people were cooking up a nightmare.

The only door in the room opened up and in came their manager, a woman in her mid-thirties with brown hair and a cold, piercing gaze. She greeted the line of young medics with a quick nod.

"The scientists of the Trials requested for our assistance for this particular assessment," she started, not bothering with courtesies. "We will be dealing with all of the Subjects simultaneously so we're going to need all hands on deck," she explained. "You'll find out why soon enough."

She walked over to the first person on queue, a dark-haired girl named Brenda, and gave her a manila folder. The newest trainee gingerly took it from her.

"Each of you will receive a folder containing both the files of your assigned subject and the instructions of what you need to do for the whole duration of the test. All data should be entered in the tablets located in your working stations." She stopped in front of Alex with a folder labelled "A14" in her right hand. The younger girl stuck her hand out to take it from Julia when she pulled it out of her reach at the last second.

"Alexandria."

"Yes, maam?" she replied.

The manager put back A14's file on the stack of folders on her left arm and handed her a new one: A7.

"This should be interesting," she murmured before moving on to the next medic. Alex hurriedly opened her folder and found a clear photo of Minho staring back at her. "Property of WICKED" was stamped across it in red ink.

She felt her pulse quicken. Even with him as her Subject, everything still felt wrong. She had been asked to assess him many times in the past and none of those instances gave her the dreadful feeling that she was experiencing at that moment.

"Let's go," Julia barked. "Clock's ticking."

Like a well-oiled machine, the long line of medics wordlessly followed her out of the room. They passed by a dim corridor. The only sources of light were the blue LED strips on each wall which were a few inches off the floor. It cast a bluish hue on everyone, making them look sickly and gaunt.

"Sam?" she whispered to the blonde boy behind her. "Have you been here before?"

"No," he whispered back.

"I don't like this."

"Neither do I. Now shut up."

Both jumped when a loud hiss echoed throughout the room. The wall at the end of the hallway separated in half revealing another hidden room up ahead.

"What are those?" someone mumbled in front of her.

From afar, she could see large, cylindrical glass tanks filled with a clear bubbling liquid, almost like water. They reminded her of the aquarium they had in their living room many years ago, before her immunity status got her mixed up with the shady business that was WICKED.

It was only when she walked through the entrance and got a closer look at the tanks did she realize that she had stepped into a living nightmare, if not her own then of the Subjects of the Trials.

The first Subject that greeted her was Newt. He was the one inside the tank nearest to the entrance. Alex couldn't stop the horrified gasp from escaping her mouth. He was immersed in the fluid, seemingly unconscious. His wavy blonde hair was floating in soft tendrils around his face. She noticed that he was still dressed in the white ensemble that he had on at breakfast, as though he just literally ate, walked inside the tank and fell asleep. A black face mask was attached on his face, covering his nose and mouth. She paused to take a closer look, sighing with relief when she saw that he was still breathing.

"Thank God."

"Alexandria," Julia called out. "This way."

While her heart sank when she saw Newt, it froze when she saw Minho. It took every once of her self-control not to turn tail and head for the nearest exit. Like the rest of the Subjects, he was also suspended in the tank. Unlike most of them who bobbed up and down like lifeless rag dolls, he twitched and fidgeted continuously. His eyes were closed but his eyebrows were furrowed as though he was in the middle of a bad dream.

"Min?" She had a sense of foreboding that she was going to screw him up big time in this one.

The manager stood beside her and observed the twitchy Subject with a look of disapproval.

"Tsk tsk. They should've rigged up the sedatives on this one."

'Sedatives?!'

"His killzone waves are all over the place," she continued with not even a drop of empathy in her voice. "I'm surprised he's not having a fit as we speak. If only those waves are as prominent as it is when he's awake." She turned to the girl beside her who was frozen with terror. "Make it work Alexandria. I trust in you."

And then she was gone.

A low male voice boomed from the hidden speakers in the room.

"Attention Staff, both from the Research department and the Medical department. Allow me to give you a quick run-through of today's test. In approximately one minute, the sedatives will be lifted and each of you will be tasked to deal with a confused Subject. Consider this a fair warning. Each Subject has a probe attached at the base of his or her skull. These probes are attached microsurgically to their limbic system. Do not, under any circumstance, allow your assigned Subject to remove the probe. Failure to prevent such an occurrence can cause the Subject permanent brain damage and even death. Consider this a fair warning. Should the Subject attempt to do so, press the red button on your left hand side to subdue him or her. Subduing a Subject before all the stages of the experiment are cleared is equivalent to a failed test result. Should this occur, please indicate by ticking the appropriate box in the tablet in front of you.

You may begin the test as soon as the Subject regains consciousness. On your right hand side is a column of numbered buttons. Pressing a button releases a specific neurotransmitter to the killzone, affecting a Subject's sensory perception for three minutes. We believe that this is enough time for you to make your observations and to enter them in the tablets provided. There is a total of five neurotransmitters. For the success of this test, we request that you record the data as accurately as possible. Thank you."

The medics listened in stunned silence. By then, most of them had figured out that this was not their usual experiment. With this test, they will be the ones administering _something_, causing _something_ to the Subjects. They were no longer bystanders taking notes. They will be the ones trying to get a rise out of their roommates, their classmates and their friends. All for the sake of science.

Minho's eyes fluttered open. Alex took this as her cue to start gathering data. Ten seconds in and she could see a steep rise in his pulse. His breathing was shallow and rapid. He was hyperventilating. She had to do something.

"Min," she called out. He didn't seem to notice. With each second, his heartbeat climbed. 117. 121. 126.

"Minho!" she tried again. This time she pressed her left hand against the cool glass. He caught sight of it and swam towards her, pressing his right hand against hers.

"What the fuck is going on?!" His voice emanated from a speaker on the bottom part of the tank. The look in his eyes said it all. He was terrified.

"Listen, this is a test," she tried to explain. "You're going to be okay, I'm right here."

He slammed his palms against the glass in frustration and swam upwards on the metal top of the tank, slamming his hands on the edges. He was looking for a way out. Alex knew she had to start. No use in stalling if she couldn't get him to calm down. With a heavy sigh, she pressed the first button.

She almost panicked too when she saw his reaction. Minho stopped moving and went as stiff as a board. He floated down until she was face to face with his blank stare.

"What's happening?" she asked, horrified. She turned to the Medic on her left who looked just as clueless as her.

"They're alive aren't they?" the other girl squeaked, forgetting about the heart monitor in front of her.

As if to answer her question, both B7 and A7 let out high pitched shrieks. All around them, Subject after Subject howled in pain as the medics activated the first neurotransmitters. Alex threw her files down and pressed herself against the tank, scared senseless at the sight of Minho tortured by something invisible to her.

"What's the matter?!" she screeched, banging her palms against the glass. "Min, what's wrong?!"

"Make it stop!" he screamed, followed by a slew of unintelligible words that could only come out from someone being pushed to his breaking point. His hands flew up to clutch at his hair. "It's fucking killing me!"

"Stay with me. This is just a test, it's not gonna kill you. They won't allow it. Please stay with me," she begged. She looked at the timer. One full minute left.

"Look at me," she commanded. "I said look at me!"

Minho pried his eyes open and held Alex's gaze just as she asked. He read her lips. She was counting down the seconds.

"Five...four...three...two...one."

Her shaking finger hovered over the second button. Just as she activated the second stage, he asked her the one thing that was going to leave her sleepless for the days to come.

"Why are you doing this?" He might as well have slapped her.

She pressed the second button. As soon as she did, panic returned for the fourteen-year old boy in the tank. His breathing grew rapid and deep. Soon he started gagging and clutching at his chest as though he couldn't breathe. Alex's eyes darted at his oxygen levels on the screen behind him. It read ninety-nine percent, near perfect.

"You're fine. It's just an illusion. This is all an illusion."

Alex realized now what the purpose of the test was. They had mentioned it in class before. Some of the most useful killzone patterns can only be produced if a Subject is placed under extreme stress. These were the patterns that most closely resembled that of a Crank's, whose killzone is too messed-up to _not _be under extreme stress all the time.

They were trying to get the most high-quality patterns from the Subjects. It was the ultimate gauge of how good they were going to be in the Trials.

Alex watched silently as her bestfriend suffered in front of her. She didn't know what else to say. He may have been the one stuck in the tank but they were both trapped in this mess. She knew the only way he could get out of this in one piece is to endure through all the neurotransmitters and their varying types of torture. Subduing him at that point in time was not an option. She had sworn to herself before that under no circumstances will she let that stubborn boy fail on a test _she _was administering. He wasn't going to be thrown in that Maze to become Griever fodder. He was gonna live, even if he will grow to hate her for it.

The minutes had never ticked by so slowly. By then, the room was already filled with deafening screams and cries of the tormented Subjects. Alex ignored them as much as she could and focused solely on Minho, on his vitals, his killzone waves, and his sanity.

Halfway through the induction of every neurotransmitter he would manage to calm himself down and somehow grasp that whatever it was that was hurting him wasn't real. He would try to endure it as silently as he could until Alex pressed the next button and he would again scream from being thrown off-guard.

By the fifth button, he had retreated in himself. She knew better than to try to talk to him. The best that she could hope for was that when all of this was over, he would understand that she never wanted to hurt him but she had to do it...for his sake.

Halfway through the last neurotransmitter she noticed something that jumpstarted her own heartbeat.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

The first thing he ripped out was the probe in his finger, which measured the oxygen in his bloodstream. A few seconds later, his hands went under his shift and pulled at the wires attached there.

"Stop it," she called out, tapping the glass with her hands. "Minho, stop!"

"Let me out!" he roared. Despite the drug in his system, he looked lucid and angry as hell.

"I can't. Fifty-two seconds. That's all I ask!"

He growled and punched at the glass directly in front of her, stunning her.

"I trusted you!"

'What?!' "I'm trying to _help_ you-"

She was cut off by the sound of knuckles against glass. His fist repeatedly hit the glass until it bled, tinting the liquid surrounding him with a reddish hue.

"Help me," she turned to the medic beside her. The young girl shrugged helplessly. "Somebody help me!"

Julia came to her side, pausing when she caught sight of the enraged boy in front of her.

"What neurotransmitter?" she asked calmly.

"F-f-five," Alex stammered. They both glanced at the remaining time left before the drug wore off. Twenty seconds.

"Subdue him," Julia commanded. "He's becoming unpredictable. It's too dangerous."

Sixteen seconds.

"No," Alex retorted, standing her ground.

"He's panicking," her manager pointed out. "Your friend is terrified of water. Didn't you see his vitals earlier on?" It was also the reason she made the comment about the sedatives.

Twelve seconds.

Alex felt like an idiot. She couldn't get over how this fact slipped past her. She should have known better. "He's gonna make it."

"Just listen to her!" he shouted.

"You've been there fifteen minutes, suck it up!" she urged. She eyed the timer. Seven seconds.

While flapping around, Minho grabbed hold of the wire at the base of his skull.

Three. Four.

Alex watched helplessly as he gave it a sharp tug.

A few seconds later, he floated limply on the tank. His head bounced lightly against its side. Alex broke a nail when she jammed her index finger on the red button for sedation. She attacked it the second the timer turned zero. Above them, the lights turned bright green. There was a loud gushing sound as the fluids quickly drained away from the tanks. She fell to her knees. All the energy she had left was focused on the self-loathing she felt at the inhuman torture that WICKED made her do.

* * *

Most of the Subjects had to be sent in the infirmary that afternoon. A7 was one of them. He had to be treated for bruised knuckles and for "inhalation of a foreign substance". Alex diligently waited outside of the treatment room for him to come out. The guilt had not stopped gnawing at her since the tests finished. She wanted to tell to him how sorry she was, that it was never her intention to hurt him. She just wanted to make sure that he stood a chance in the Maze.

"Thanks man."

She bolted out of her seat at the familiar voice. She ran towards the entrance, where he stood talking with another Medic.

"Min! Thank God you're okay-"

She stopped abruptly when she caught the look that he gave her. She had seen him angry many times but that anger had not been directed at her since they were nine. It was unnerving.

He sauntered over to her, his hands clenched into tight fists. Even the bandaged one looked ready to strike. Alex stepped back and squeezed her eyes shut, ready to take a beating.

"Don't kid yourself," he said, his voice cold and indifferent. "You became one of them the second they put you in a tight spot. Cowards like you aren't worthy of a decent beating."

And with that, he was gone. It would be another month before he would talk to her again, a whole month of accusatory looks, cold shoulders, and carrying around the heavy feeling of loss. Even after his anger passed, she would often be left wondering whether Minho would ever realize why she chose to torture him rather than let him take the easy way out. From that day on, Julia's words haunted her like an invisible cross that she silently bore.

"Let today be a reminder of where you and Minho stand in these Trials. He is a Subject. You are on the outside looking in. I wish it will never happen but there may come a time when you have to be the one making the hard decisions. I know we all like to try but you have to know that you can't always save them. Should you ever be faced with that situation, you must not hesitate to do what you have to do. Do you understand me?"

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ I don't like torturing characters, which is why I was having second thoughts posting this. Too morbid. Still, I think its a pivotal point in the characters' lives. It's terrible but for Alex (especially) it would explain her actions later on (hopefully). I really hope I can make this jive with the storyline. *fingers crossed*. Plus I think it makes the Minho/Alex friendship/relationship realistic. I mean, come on. These kids were raised in WICKED. Their lives couldn't have been roses and daises all the time.

Btw thanks for the reviews you guys. You are OSSUM, as always. Going to be a bit busy these next couple of days so I may not be able to post ASAP. Leave a review anyway. Thanks!


	35. Insanity

Minho had no memories of visiting the ocean. He wasn't even sure if he had ever been to a small lake. He didn't know if he could swim. Should he find himself underwater, will he be able to paddle to the surface or will he sink to the bottom like dead weight? No one around him could give him an answer. He thought it was probably why the idea of drowning scared him. He could always find a way out as long as his feet are on solid ground. Put him in water and he was as helpless as he could be.

Minho was drowning. At least, it felt like he was. He urged himself to breathe but it felt like no air was getting inside his burning lungs. He whole body cramped. His brain screamed for oxygen. Just when he thought he was about to catch his breath, the memories came flooding back. Wave after wave of the life he had lived before the Maze came back to him. In the blink of an eye he was a labrat running on a treadmill. A heartbeat later he was a freak show in a water tank, panicking because he was afraid of being trapped. A sharp pain sliced through his head making him scream in agony. A second later he was a young boy screaming for the loss of his entire family.

_"You're my person Min_,_"_ a girl's voice echoed in his throbbing skull. A bright white light. A younger version of a smile he knew too well. It was the only good memory of the nightmare that was his past.

_"You got my back and I got yours. You won't lose me. I promise."_

'Alex, come find me. I need your help.'

WICKED didn't let her keep her word. He could feel them watching him as he watched her die. He thought he would've felt better if they killed him instead. With anguish came the anger. He couldn't stop it. It was everywhere, consuming him, suffocating him, turning into rage. Another scream ripped out of this throat as his left fist punched a hole in the ground. By then, the rage was all he could think about. It overshadowed everything else that made him who he was. It turned him into an animal, a bloodthirsty monster.

* * *

The rescue squad was lucky. They found the footprints before the evening winds blew them away. Using only their flashlights, they plowed through the blinding dust and went where the prints took them. Just as Harriet and Sonya had predicted, these led them to the mountains.

"Cole are we going the right way?" Gally shouted through the howling wind. The former Crank gave him the thumbs up. He remembered the cluster of dead trees east of the largest rock by the entrance. They were on their way to the caves.

"Those kids better be alright," Jorge prayed, pressing the bottom of his flashlight against his lips. "Lord Father help them."

"You're right. They better be," Brenda replied. "They're the best chance we got of making it."

Whether they wanted it or not, Thomas and Minho had been the major brains in making Paradise's systems for defense and resource gathering work. Thomas was practically born to create highly complex yet effective systems. Despite not being part of the Council, everyone knew about his contributions behind the scenes. Minho's eidetic memory and stamina was also a prime asset. Without those two, Paradise will be severely crippled, all the more if the Right Arm decided to attack as they had feared they will.

A chill ran down Brenda's back as they entered a Cave. The air was cooler inside. The howling of the wind had stopped and in its wake was deafening silence. Everyone moved silently, too afraid to be the first to make a sound. Up ahead, Harriet raised her hand up, signalling the group to stop. Brenda and Jorge exchanged worried looks. She strained her neck, curious to see what it was Harriet was looking at. The girl had crouched down to check something on the ground. From where she stood, it looked like thick, dark muck.

"Look," Jorge whispered. He trailed the beam of his flashlight heading their way. Smudges of the substance was on the ground. She jumped in surprise when she found a black handprint inches from where she stood.

"It smells like blood," Gally mumbled, rubbing the liquid between his fingers. It only meant one thing. Someone was hurt.

'Please don't let it be Thomas.' Fear trickled inside her, making her break into a cold sweat. With fear came panic. She couldn't stand not knowing whether or not he was safe. After everything that had happened, she had to know. If it meant giving in to one moment of weakness, then so be it.

"Thomas!" she shouted despite what her training had taught her _not _to do. Everyone gathered around her to keep her quiet.

"Thomas where are you?!" she shouted again.

"What the shuck?" Gally whispered.

"Zip it!" Sonya hissed.

"Over here!" A reply echoed along the stone walls. "I'm over here!"

"Oh my God," Harriet gasped. The group broke into a sprint, following the direction of the missing Nav's voice. They urged him to keep talking as they managed through the numerous twists and turns of the cave system.

They found him in one of the dead ends, both legs bound by a thick rope. His hands were tried behind his back. Brenda elbowed through everyone and knelt down in front of him.

"You okay? Are you hurt?" she asked shakily. Thomas shook his head, unable to help but smile at the sight of his girlfriend. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you again."

The two exchanged a quick kiss before Brenda and Cole proceeded to undo his ropes. "Let's get you out of here bud."

Sonya bent down to meet his gaze. "Where's Minho?"

"Vince let him go. Listen, we have to find him," he replied urgently as he struggled out of his binds. "He's been stung."

Everyone paused at Thomas' words.

"What do you mean stung?" Gally asked in alarm. He turned to Harriet who looked at him with eyes as wide as saucers. She looked horrified.

"Look out!" she shrieked.

He turned around just in time to see Minho jump at him. The two landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

"What the hell shank!" It took all of the strength of both his arms to stop the Runner from clamping his hands over his throat. One of the flashlights above shone on Minho's face, making Gally curse in surprise. It was like seeing Ben and Van all over again. Blue veins ran through his neck and face. Even the whites of his eyes had ropelike veins in them, making him look like a monster.

"Minho fight it! Listen to me!" he cried. He moved his head just in time to escape the rock that the deranged boy slammed towards his face. It dug into the ground an inch beside his ear. Gally braced himself as punch after punch rained down on his head.

"Murderer," Minho whispered, which stunned him more than any blow he had endured from him. "You fucking killed him. You killed Chuck."

"Gallly watch it!" Cole warned. He felt the rush of something swinging above him. Minho rolled out of its way before it hit him. He recovered into a crouching position a couple of feet away. Gally scrambled up to his feet, still shaking at the other Glader's whispered accusations. Harriet helped him up. "You okay?" she asked. He replied by spitting out a thick wad of blood. He looked at Cole on his right whose deathgrip on the wooden spear tightened even more. He was ready to strike if the crazed boy came at them again.

"What the hell is wrong with him?"

"It's the Griever venom," the Builder replied. "Thomas do not tell me there's a Griever in here."

Thomas, who was now free and on his feet, shook his head.

"Vince injected him with it for interrogation. Minho didn't give, the tough shuck. So he cut him loose hoping to take you guys by surprise." He motioned at the bleeding wound on Minho's heaving chest. A portion of the stinger was still embedded in it.

"But...we have no Grief serum," Sonya pointed out. She didn't say it but he knew what she meant. Without the serum, the infection will spread in his blood and consume him. It may not look like it but he knew better. Minho was dying.

The Runner stopped growling for once. Like a stiff old man, he sat on the ground and clutched at his pounding head.

"Minho," Thomas called out cautiously. "What's wrong?"

"Everything from the looks of it," the dark-haired boy replied with his signature smirk. He chuckled when he saw their terrified faces. "I'm a goner, aren't I?"

"Don't say that babe," Sonya sobbed. Harriet grabbed her by the hand when she made an attempt of walking over to him.

"Baby, you've always been good at lying to yourself. Stop it," he pointed out.

"Shut it, asshole," Cole scolded. Minho didn't hear him. At that moment, another dagger of pain sliced through his head, making him throw up.

_"I got you," Alex was by his side, helping him dry up after the another round of the Tank Test. Her movements were slow and gentle but he didn't miss the anger shining bright in her eyes. He still couldn't stop shivering from the drug-induced mindrape. Behind him, he could hear the scientists going through his test results in preparation for the official report._

_"Interesting. Very interesting," a male voice said. Despite the pain he felt all over his body, he turned his head to look at them. They were looking at him in that curious way that made him feel like a freak. He hated it._

_"What now?" he croaked. Alex shushed him._

_"He's the third one we got that has these results," one of the female scientists said._

_"I know," the oldest-looking one replied. He recognized him. It was Hans. __"I want blood samples from the Subject for genetic testing."_

_The youngest of the group nodded and approached the two teenagers on the floor with a tray of syringes in her hands. This time Alex spoke up._

_"That can wait. I'll do the bloods for you later but can you please give him a break?" Despite his besfriend's small frame, the firmness of her voice made everyone pause. "Thank you," she added. Minho gave her a small smile. "My chick's bad."_

_"Call me chick again and I'll throw you back in the tank myself," she replied in a low voice. She helped him up to his feet. "Let's get out of here before these weirdos come up with something sick."_

He remembered the treatments, the false comfort that they lulled the Subjects into before inducing those experiments on them. The more he remembered it, the angrier he got.

"You shucks better leave right now," he said. "I'm getting fucking pissed by the second."

"You're coming with us," Thomas replied. Everyone turned to look at him.

"That is not a good idea." And everyone agreed silently. He hated everything at that moment. He didn't need a reason why he just hated them. His knuckles where itching to hit something. "I have this crazy urge to kill someone right now. I'm not exaggerating," he said with a flat voice.

"We'll find a way around it. We're not leaving you." Thomas picked up the thick ropes by his feet and wound it up his forearm. First, he needed to find a way to get him back to Paradise. And then he will find a way to save him. If he couldn't do it, he will find someone who could. He's had enough of watching his friends die in front of him.

* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**I saw the movie yesterday and MAN. I got bad blueballs watching it (which is a feat...considering I have none). Aside from that I had a weird feeling of deja vu every half an hour. Despite all that and the major differences from the books I enjoyed it. Worth every penny if you ask me. For those who have seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

Now, as you all know I started this fic way before the Scorch Trials movie came out. So really I didn't know what to expect from it. Wes had told us earlier on that it was not going to stick with the book. And he meant it. For those of you who have watched the movie but have not read the books you might be wondering why some of the things here are very different from the movie version. FYI I'm sticking as close to the book canon as possible...while adding bits and pieces from my own imagination on the way. I made that decision before I even published the first chapter of The Variable and I plan to keep on doing just that. Still, despite the differences hope y'all enjoy it anyway. And um...reviews are ossum! They're love I tell you.

**popsmission: **Don't hate me. But I felt GIDDY watching Minho and Sonya on the same scenes. I was waiting...WAITING for them to flirt with each other or even exchange glances and all. WAITING. And I swore if those two did that I will squeal in the cinema. I didn't care who I was watching the movie with. Squeal! Just sharing. Oh and I was really flattered by your last rev. Thanks!


	36. Promises to Keep

The women and children who were not cut out to fight were asked to hide in their cabins with their lights off. Alex didn't question this and hid in the bedroom with Millie the first chance she got. She closed the curtains and the shutters before fumbling in the dark to lie next to the boy.

"Get some sleep Millie," she said, enveloping him in a hug. She felt his head shift to look at her.

"What if the Right Arm comes? I want to be awake when they come." He didn't even dare remove his glasses. The last thing he wanted was to be forced to run blind.

Alex paused. She couldn't lie to him anymore. Everyone knew it could happen. While they hid for safety, people outside were arming up for battle, preparing for their arrival at that very moment. Even the elderly, graying Bill decided he wanted to fight.

"Actually, you have a point," she replied. "But we also need to be badass strong for when they do come. I need you to be able to run fast when that happens. Alright?" The eight-year old considered her explanation before nodding in agreement. "Fine."

"Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when...if I have to."

"Promise?"

"Yeah."

She watched him like a hawk until the fidgety boy become more still. She listened to his soft snores and even breathing. As the night grew deep, she felt her own eyelids getting heavy.

'C'mon guys. Please come back to us,' she thought, snuggling closer against Millie's thick locks to escape the pangs of worry in her guts. And just as sleep claimed her, her thoughts became more raw and more honest than she ever dared to admit when she was wide awake.

'Min, come back to me.'

_She was surprised to see him sitting on her bed. When he saw her, he bolted up to his feet. His face remained stoic and unreadable. She closed the bedroom door behind her but made no move to go near him. Ever since the tank test a month ago, they haven't spoken a word to each other. The first few days after that disaster she made attempts to talk to him, to explain her side of the story to him. Her determination always faltered every time she saw the look of disgust and loathing that he gave her. For Minho, she was the operator that set the tests in motion for him. She called the shots for the tortures. Naturally, he blamed her for it. Four weeks in and she was still struggling to live with the fact that she had lost her bestfriend before the Trials even started._

_A full minute passed and neither of them uttered a single word. Finally Minho walked over to her. Alex stepped back until her back was against the door, unsure of what he was about to do._

_"D'you really think I'm going to beat you?" he asked before pulling her into a tight hug. She couldn't stop the sob that ripped out of her throat as she hugged him back just as tightly._

_"I'm so sorry," she cried. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to fail. I did__n't want to them to think you're not good enough."_

_"It's not your fault," he mumbled through the crown of her head. "I was just too pissed to admit it. So, I'm the stupid one." It was his own way of apologizing._

_"Still," she shook her head against his chest. "I never wanted to do it. Sorry. I'm sorry."_

_"They would've come after you if you refused to do it. Don't be silly."_

_They went over to her single bed and sat on it in silence for the longest time. They didn't have to say anything. Both were just glad to be with each other. It was the longest time that they have gone through without speaking a word to each other and it clearly took its toll on the both of them. Minho briefly wondered that if not talking to Alex for a month made him that miserable, then how in the world was he going to survive the Trials which they said was to run for years? He pushed the saddening thoughts away and looked over to the dark-haired girl beside him. She looked back at him, eyebrows furrowed questioningly._

_"What is it?" she asked._

_"They're gonna do it again."_

_It took her a while to reply. A part of her hoped she heard him wrong. But if her ears failed her, her eyes didn't. Minho looked scared. "You're kidding me."_

_He smiled wryly at her. "Not this time, Alex. It's true. The tank test crunched killzones so badly that they produced the patterns that they needed for the preliminary studies. And they want more of it."_

_"Well I'm not doing it," she replied. "Julia can stick it up her ugly ass I'm not participating in it ever again!" Whether it was Minho or another one of the kids, she didn't think her conscience would let her live with the guilt if she did it for the second time._

_"Actually I was hoping you would." He turned to look at her without a hint of mischief in his eyes. Alex was shocked. "What?"_

_"I told them you have to be the one to administer it to me or else I'll start pulling my brains out of my nose before they knew what hit them. I want you there alright?"_

_She looked down at her sweaty hands and squeezed them together. A part of her had the nerve to want to make light of situation by telling Minho he was being a clingy baby as always. A bigger part of her was more concerned of one problem._

_"Are you gonna stop talking to me again after that?" she asked anxiously._

_"No, I'll be thanking you. For reminding me that none of it is real." He untangled her hands and gave the right one a quick squeeze. "Please."_

_Alex nodded. And as she did a heavy weight settled on her shoulders. "This isn't stopping anytime soon, is it?" WICKED will continue to milk everything out and tear them apart until there was nothing left in all of them._

_"You know those kids who lost it? D'you remember them?" he asked._

_Alex remembered them all too well. They were the ones who broke under the weight of the experiments, the ones who had been through so much that by the time the scientists were done with them all that was left were drooling shells of the children they once were. Doctors were quick to chalk them off as insane._

_"I don't wanna end up like them." When Alex didn't answer, Minho turned to glare at her. "Did you hear me?"_

_"You won't. I won't let you." She nudged her shoulder against his. "I promise."_

"Wake up."

Alex gasped as she regained her consciousness. She felt disoriented as he eyes adjusted in the dark. Her body was awake but her mind was still stuck in the dream. It wasn't just a dream. This time, she was certain that it had happened before. It was a memory.

"I thought you were crying," Millie whispered.

She rubbed her eyes. Funny enough, they felt moist. "I'm alright Mills," she replied, voice still hoarse from sleep. "Why are you awake?"

"I just woke up. Now I can't go back to sleep because...I'm scared," the young boy admitted. "I don't want them to take me."

She cupped his round cheeks with one hand and focused on the silhouette of his face. "You know I won't let that happen."

"You swear?"

"On my life." She felt a skinny arm wrap around her waist and she let him hug her. She knew Millie was terrified. The boy was smart enough to know that his blood status made him a target for the Right Arm. The best she could do for him was to act like she wasn't afraid as well and that she knew what she was doing.

"How do you think Minho and Thomas are doing right now?" Millie asked out of the blue. Alex was taken aback and couldn't come up with a lie. She stayed quiet.

"They're really cool guys," he added. "I don't want them hurt."

"Neither do I," she murmured.

There was a long stretch of comfortable silence which was broken by a chorus of explosions which came from outside the cabin. Gunshots.

"It's them!" Millie shrieked. The girl quickly clamped his mouth shut. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, making everything feel sharper. The explosions sounded too close. It could only have come from the west fence which was yards away from them.

"Follow me," she whispered and grabbed the boy's hand. Outside, Leo and the guards were shouting orders and preparing to fight back. One of the guards went around the cabins, barking orders to stay inside and keep still.

"Let's go," Alex said, pulling Millie outside the door.

"But they said-"

"Come on!" she exclaimed just as another series of shots echoed through the night. She dared to take a peek behind the entrance wall and saw the bullet holes in the fences. They were closing in.

"Millie, run. We have to go."

Through the darkness of the night, they ran and made their way towards the apothecary. She planned on keeping him on its underground store room which was hidden under a trap door. And as she dragged the sole carrier of the Cure in that part of the world, she felt the weight of the conversation that she had with Cole earlier that night.

_"Millie. You and I both know he's one of the reasons why they're coming here. Keep him safe for as long as you possibly can." Cole looked away before he continued. "And if you no longer can, make sure they don't take him alive."_

_Her jaw slacked in shock. "What are you saying?"_

_"I'm saying the Cure only works if the blood sample is taken from a live donor. If the Right Arm gets a hold of him, then it's game over for all of us, including him. They'll bleed him dry and keep him just alive enough to make sure the antibodies don't spoil. Given the chance don't you think it's more humane to just put him down?"_

_"Cole please stop it!" she exclaimed. "You're scaring me."_

_"No, I'm telling you. We need to stop them from taking the boy alive at all costs. I can't let that happen. Neither should you. For his sake."_

_She gazed at his cold blue eyes. She hated the way he sounded then. He sounded so cruel. And yet she couldn't agree more._

* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**Don't want to be a spoiler but some of the parts here were the reason that I had mini heart attacks and bouts of deja vu while watching The Scorch Trials. The draft for the Alex/Cole convo was done around 2 weeks before the release of the movie (It was written as a continuation of the Sonya freakout bit but I cut it at the last minute for story purposes). And then the Alex/Minho convo was done a few days after that (didn't know where to stick it at that time so I left it as a draft). There was a part there when Minho and Thomas were talking in the movie and when I heard it, I choked on my 7Up. But part of it _was _in the trailer so I was like...maybe that was where I got the idea from? I dunno. Just felt creepy is all.


	37. Siege

Paradise was under siege. That was the only certainty for Millie as his sole protector half-dragged, half-carried him out of harm's way. The sound of gunshots and grenades echoed in the darkness of midnight. All around them, he could make out silhouette after silhouette of people dropping like flies. Their terrified cries were drowned by the constant explosion of automatic weapons and grenades. Both him and Alex screamed in terror at the sound of one gunshot. It felt way too close. A millisecond later, the stranger at their right fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"We're getting shot at!" he exclaimed.

"Follow me," Alex gasped as she tried to catch her breath. She led him to the southern main street, hoping to find shelter there. She realized too late that she made a terrible mistake. People were rushing towards them from all directions. Soon, her and Millie were stuck in the middle of a stampede.

"Do _not _let go of my hand!" she barked as she desperately shoved her way out of the crowd. She struggled to keep the two of them on their feet. Something told her that if one of them fell to the ground, they will be trampled to death. It turned out to be a harder ordeal than she originally thought. Most of the panicked villagers towered over them. Within minutes, they were trapped in a barrage of flinging limbs. One man managed to smack her across the face. Before she could recover from the blow, someone else's elbow found its way on her ear. Everything began to spin after that.

"Alex-"

"Eyes on the road!" she instructed, struggling through the sudden vertigo. Millie bit his lip as he tried his best to punch a way out for them through the sea of people. Alex blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. It was when she shook her head for the third time that she noticed it, a green neon dot flitting all over their heads. She scanned the crowd and found two more of these dots aiming at the group a couple of rows ahead of them. Instinct took over. She grabbed Millie and pulled the two of them down. Before they even reached the ground, gunshots peppered them from the front. The shouts of the panicking people could not hide the sound of metal digging against flesh as the bullets found their targets.

Alex crawled through the ground and positioned herself and Millie behind a pile of unmoving bodies.

"Head down!" She roughly shoved his head under the arm of one of the dead locals and threw herself over him. She could only pray that none of the bullets found her. The gunshots lasted for a few more minutes before everything grew still. Those who were unharmed had long ran away from the site of the ambush.

"Alex," Millie cried. The girl above him was too still. "Say something!" He twisted his body from its prone position to get a better look at her. The movement woke her up, causing her to gasp loudly.

"Ouch," she groaned. She could barely breathe against the heavy weight pinning her on the ground. Summoning all the strength she could muster, she pushed the limp body out of the way. She was spitting out a litany of curses when her eyes landed on the person she was pushing on. She grew silent. It was one of the Subjects from Group B.

"You're bleeding." Millie pointed at her neck. She hurriedly reached up to her neck, face and back, half expecting her hands to fall on a gaping hole in her body somewhere. She looked back again at the dead girl whose glassy eyes didn't even have time to close before the life was drained out of her. Her hands fell down at her sides.

"It's from her," she said, nodding at the hole on the girl's neck. For a moment, neither of them could move from shock as their haunted eyes scanned at the aftermath of the carnage that just occurred.

'This is war,' she thought. Those village leaders couldn't hide this anymore. And neither could they hide the fact that they were on the losing side. All those hours spent trying to build this community had gone down the drain after just a night of being attacked. How did the world become so shucked up?

Despite the grim plight they faced, Alex knew they had to move. She stood up shakily and helped Millie to his feet. "It's not over yet Mills. We need to keep moving."

"Let me join you," a voice called out from behind them. It was from a short be-freckled boy whom they called Aris and he was already limping his way towards them. In his hand was a pocket knife, drawn out and aimed at the ready.

"Watch where you point that thing," Alex warned, resuming her death grip on Millie's thin forearm.

"You'll never know," he replied, pausing when he laid eyes on the fallen girl beside the pair. "Helen..."

"Aris, right? Listen man, I'm sorry about your friend but we have to get out of here," Alex said urgently. She felt terrible for having to practically tell him to leave Helen behind but they didn't have much choice. The danger was still present. She had a kid to protect and she was slowly losing confidence in her capacity to do so. Aris nodded in understanding and said, "We need a place to hide."

"Get us to the apothecary. I know a spot there. You can bunk with us."

"Alright. Follow me."

With Aris as their guide, the trio navigated in the dark, with only the pale light from the waning moon to help them see their path. They avoided the main roads and opted to dive through bushes and sneak in between cabins to avoid detection.

"I'm telling you, this Paradise business is falling apart," Aris said in a low voice as they jogged towards the secluded building. "We could never prepare for this kind of attack. It's impossible."

"Yeah we sort of figured that bit out earlier," Alex replied miserably. "But the question is _why? _This is overkill. Surely they knew we weren't armed."

"We're not armed but we have resources. With the world dying, a freshly picked vegetable could be sold for a fortune. We have that but not enough of it to share to others. So they're getting rid of us. It's the only logical explanation I could come up with." Alex and Millie exchanged glances. Both found it odd at how matter-of-factly the teenage boy sounded when they have just survived an ambush and have just watched his friend die. He wasn't finished with his rant and continued, "I asked Elliot to consider an evacuation. I get it. The Scorch isn't a peachy place to be in. Not everyone will survive it but at least some of us could have stood a chance. In here, we're all sitting on a giant bull's eye."

"What did he say?"

"What do you think?" he shot back. "He shushed me off. Even stopped me from talking to Jaime."

They grew quiet when they reached the apothecary. It was empty and surprisingly well-arranged. The chaos brought by the Right Arm had yet to touch the secluded place. This time, Alex took the lead. She led them on a right turn which looked like a dead end at first glance. Then she knelt down and opened a trapdoor on the floor. Millie climbed down first. She urged Aris to go second. He paused and tucked his knife in his boot.

"In case I get screwed, you can take it to defend yourself."

Alex didn't know what to say to that. Instead, she just climbed down after him. As she closed the trapdoor above her, their surroundings became pitch black.

"Alex?" Millie whispered. "What do we do?"

There was a long pause. She racked her brain as to what tacticians like Thomas or hardcore warriors like Minho would do in the situation they were in. Not surprisingly, she had no idea.

"Now we wait."

* * *

"Who did you leave her with, Cole?"

"Millie. Bill wanted to be on the open to fight."

"Shuck. Did you give her any weapon, a-a-a knife? Or a baseball bat like the one she hit your shuck face with?" the Runner queried, still as cheeky as ever. The dark-haired non-Immune mentally smacked himself at the back of the head. _Now why didn't I think of that?_

"Did you tell her where to hide?"

"For goodness' sake, man. Give you ex-girlfriend some credit, will you? She's not a cripple. She can handle herself," he replied irritably. There was a long pause and the two trudged silently a few meters behind the main group. Then Minho exploded. "You suck!" He turned to look at Cole and nearly hit him with his elbow. The saner of the two, Cole merely growled and placed his hand on the rope behind Minho's neck. He gave him a rough shove.

"You talk too much."

Before they headed out of the cave, both Minho and Thomas agreed that they couldn't take the stung Runner with them without any kind of restrictions. The Griever venom could switch him off anytime, either giving him fits or hallucinations. The latter was more dangerous since it clouded the infected person's judgment, making him likely to attack others. At first, they simply bound his wrists together. Minho quickly pointed out that it wasn't going to work. He turned to Gally.

"Do the same one that I did to Ben." The Builder hesitated for a moment but did as he was told. The end result had Minho looking like a prisoner ready to be executed. His hands were tied at the back of his neck. Gally did it in such a way that severely restricted movement from his upper body. It also made it easier for whoever was handling the poisoned Runner to maneuver him to whichever direction. Cole volunteered to do this so he could keep a closer eye on him.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Minho glared sideways at him. He cringed at the sight of the veins running up the entire length of his face.

"I'm not as cruel as you think I am. I just want you back in Paradise, alright? Preferably in one piece." Then with a lower voice, he added, "These guys aren't the only ones who are worried sick about you."

Despite his hopeless situation, a ghost of a smile graced the Runner's lips.

"How is she?"

Cole rolled his eyes in disbelief. He found it ridiculous that despite being the one who was dying, he still had the gall to ask how Alex was. Minho was whipped. There was no denying that. 'Then again, maybe it's just the poison talking,' he added as an afterthought.

"Er...she's alright. Look, the sooner we get back to the village, the sooner we find out. How's that?"

Minho huffed but went silent thereafter.

A series of explosions from afar made the group come to a halt.

"It's them," Gally said. "They're attacking Paradise."

"Let's go!" Thomas exclaimed, readying himself for a long run. Before the group got any further, three large trucks closed in on them from both sides and from the front. Everyone raised their spears up, ready to engage in a skirmish.

"Stick together," Harriet commanded. Minho stepped in the middle of the group. With his hands tied, he was literally useless.

"Thomas?" Brenda asked worriedly. Her eyes never left the steady stream of armed men climbing out of the vehicles.

"We stick together and we fight. No one gets left behind," he replied.

The group took a step back as one of the men walked hurriedly towards them. The glare of the headlights from behind him dimmed his features into an unrecognizable silhouette.

"For crying out loud, Thomas. Put that thing down. I'm not having any more of those tetanus shots."

"Who the hell is that?" Jorge murmured. To his surprise, the leader of the group obeyed and put his spear down.

"Do you know him?" Sonya asked, keeping her guard up.

Thomas nodded dumbly. And as he did, an unwanted feeling crept up his chest. It was the one thing that he didn't dare entertain ever since things took a U-turn southwards for all of them. Now, however, he had a reason to feel it. He had a reason to be hopeful.

"Hans."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_I'm in trouble aren't I? Sorry about the slow update. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this bit. I get a lot of messages telling me they want Minho and Alex together again. So do I but I'm afraid we have to be a _bit _patient first. I can't really see them being in the same room at the moment, much less in the same breathing space...kissing and stuff. They're stuck in different locations and they got bad guys attacking. So a reunion is a bit tricky. Rest assured, they will have their moments. I'm gonna ask a favor from you though. See this is the first ever...EVER battle/war/action scene that I wrote. I have no idea what I'm doing. It's also one of the reasons why it took me long to post this thing up because I honestly don't know how to proceed. The scenes are all in my head but I felt like couldn't justify them enough in paper. That being said, constructive criticism is welcomed. I want to improve in my craft, yo. Better pieces equals happier readers. Please leave your thoughts in the review box below. Thanks!


	38. Intervention

The day before the official commencement of the Trials and sometime after their pseudo-shouting match in the library, the duo decided to look for a more secluded spot to avoid the prying eyes of other people. They found a quiet nook in between two of the older-looking bookshelves in a section labelled "Religions of the World". Minho had joked once how out-of-place this quiet corner was from the rest of the WICKED facility. "If me and them are talking about the same old Boss from above, I doubt he'd agree with most of the messed up things they do here," he said. "Why dedicate an entire section to the gods anyway? It will only remind them of the higher ups whom they're constantly disappointing."

Alex had thought about this and came to the conclusion that perhaps that was the point. Either way, she was glad that the spot existed. People rarely visited that part of the library. They sat on the floor and leaned against one of the bookshelves. Both were quiet for a long time. These silent spells had fallen over the two of them more often and in more lengthened times as the day of the Trials grew nearer. It was all they could think about. And it wasn't exactly a pleasant topic to discuss. As usual, it was the older boy who broke the silence.

"Alexandria?"

"I hear you, Minho."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "If you're not too busy tomorrow, can you be there when I get Swiped?"

The young lady visibly stiffened at his request and he knew well enough why. Nobody wanted to be there to see the Swipe happen. The non-Subjects knew the procedure would make the Subjects, whom they had come to know as friends, roommates, and even lovers, forget about them. It would be as if they never existed. They didn't need to have that ugly fact rubbed into their faces. Minho knew it was a selfish move on his part but he had no other way to tell her that he was scared shitless of what he was about to go through and everything it entailed. The fact that he asked indicated that he had now thrown his pride out the window and had let Alex take charge. When she didn't answer after a long pause, he quickly added, "Nevermind. It's cool. No hard feelings. Really."

Despite the sadness in her eyes, she mustered a glare at his direction. "Whatever, man. Of course I'll be there. Really."

Minho, who had tensed up unconsciously , let out a huge sigh of relief and slumped back against the shelf. "I owe you." The impact dislodged one of the books from the upper shelf and it landed on his head with a dull thud. A string of profanities streamed out of his mouth while Alex muffled her giggles. Frowning, he took the hardbound book and turned it over. It's cover read, _The Holy Bible: New International Reader's Version_.

"Oh look," Alex said, "Maybe that's the divine intervention we're looking for". She took the book from him and leafed through the pages, inhaling the scent of old paper. She stopped on a section called _The Book of Ruth_.

"Naomi loses her husband and sons," she declared in a clear voice.

"That's depressing," Minho muttered. She ignored him and continued reading. "There was a time when Israel didn't have kings to rule over them. But they had leaders to help them. This is a story about some things that happened that time."

He allowed himself to get lost in the drone of her voice. It soothed him. He never took much notice of it before but its timbre had changed drastically since the first time they met. It was no longer irritatingly high-pitched and screechy. Rather, it had become deeper. It sounded whole and had a melodic ring in it. He'd rather die than admit it out loud but he could listen to her talk the whole day. From the voice, he began to notice other things about her, things he had never thought much about during all those years they had spent together, like the smell of her hair, the feel of it against her fingertips, the way her nose wrinkled when she laughed, the way she bit her lip, or the curve of her hips. It was as if an iron fist clutched at his stomach. The pain came sharp and deep when he realized just how badly he didn't want to lose any of those things. He didn't want to lose her.

"Don't try to make me leave you and go back. Where you go, I'll go. Where you stay, I'll stay-"

She was cut off by Minho's lips when it crashed against hers. The Bible fell to the floor, momentarily forgotten. When Alex instinctively pulled back from the shock, he gently cupped her face and pressed firmer against her. All the frustration, anger and misery that he felt was poured in that one desperate kiss and Alex took it all in. His tongue searched her mouth and she let him. All the while, she memorized the feeling of him against her, making sure it was branded in her mind. She was going to need that memory to survive the months, even years to come. Besides, he won't be able to remember any of this. She had to do it for the both of them.

When Minho finally broke the kiss, his dark eyes bored into hers. They had an unusual glint in them. His breath shook but he held himself together impressively well.

"I'll come back for you, alright?" he said. His voice was a notch lower. "Swipe or no swipe, I'll come back. Or else..." he trailed.

"I'll find you," she continued. She planted a chaste kiss on his lips before smiling through the hot blur or her tears.

"Min, you should know by now. Where you go, I'll go. Where you stay, I'll stay."

* * *

Alex ran trembling fingers over her lips as the ghost of Minho's kiss caressed it. The memory came out of nowhere. It had no trigger but it was vivid enough to shake her to her core. Having something that intimate from the life she shared with the almond-eyed boy come back to her intensified her fear of the unknown. It had been hours. Paradise had suffered a massive attack and yet there was still no news from the rescue team or from Thomas and him. She found herself bargaining to do anything, everything in exchange for his safety.

Even if it meant walking away.

"It's gone quiet outside," Aris said in the dark. The three of them had huddled in one corner of the room with Millie sitting between the two teenagers. A moment after his declaration, they heard a lone gunshot through the cracks of the wooden floor above them. "Except for that one," he added. "The thing goes off every couple of minutes or so."

"Is it safe to head out though?" Alex asked. Before Aris could reply, hurried footsteps thundered above them. Millie clamped a hand over his mouth. None of them made a sound.

"Alex?" a female voice called out.

"That's Lisa," she whispered. The red-haired woman was the founder of the apothecary and by default, her boss. She wondered briefly why she was looking for her.

"I know you're here," she said again. "I saw you."

Dust drizzled above them as the footsteps came nearer and nearer to the direction of the trapdoor.

"What does she want?" Aris hissed. She could only shrug in response. She had no idea. The trapdoor cracked wide open and bright orange light filled the room making them squint. A woman wearing a long skirt and a tattered cardigan climbed down the ladder with a flaming torch in one hand. She waved it around the room until she spotted the three of them on one corner by the herb baskets. At this point, Alex stood up and walked over to her.

"What's going on? How are things outside?" she asked.

Lisa looked absolutely terrified. Her grimy cheeks were streaked with dry tears. "They're gonna kill us all. Give him to them."

She felt her pulse quicken at her words. "What do you mean?"

"The boy, Alex," Lisa pleaded. Her gaze landed on Millie who was half-hidden behind Aris. It flitted back to her. "Give them the boy or we're all gonna be dead by sunrise."

Alex was too stunned to notice that another person had climbed down the ladder. She only saw the neon glow of the Launcher a split second before it went off. A circular device, smaller than the diameter of her palms, attached itself on Lisa's lower back. The woman arched forward and let out a strangled cry before falling down the evened earth in a convulsing heap. The torch rolled away from her hand and stopped by the feet of her attacker, illuminating his features and the bulky weapon he had in his hands. It was Elliot. Alex was glued on the spot. Her mind screamed at her to do something, anything, but her body refused to cooperate. Before Lisa even ceased convulsing, he lifted the Launcher up and aimed at her chest. At the last second, Elliot moved the barrel a few inches to her right and fired. She flinched as she felt the device whiz past her. Millie's terrified scream brought her out of her shock and she turned to look at the disaster behind her. Aris was flapping on the ground like a fish out of water as an electric blue current ran over the length of his body.

"No!" she shrieked. She crossed the room and shielded the shivering boy with her own body. She hugged him tight while her eyes strained to look at their attacker behind her. She was truly and hopelessly scared out of her wits.

"Have mercy! Please Elliot don't do this to us!" she cried. "Have mercy," she repeated again and again. Elliot walked over to them, Launcher still at the ready and aimed it at her head.

"Please! Please! Please!" she whimpered. She couldn't remember feeling as scared as she did in that moment.

"If only I could just get rid of you, it would have been so easy," he said. Alex cried out when the barrel touched her cheek. Elliot had used the piping hot Launcher to brush her hair out of her face.

"I guess you're lucky. Vince said you're on the list." She couldn't even fathom what he meant and simply allowed the traitor to drag her all the way to the foot of the ladder. Millie's grip on her shirt didn't falter and he moved together with her. As they passed by the incapacitated Aris, she felt his hand dig inside one of the lower pockets of her cargo pants. It was gone as quickly as she noticed it and the pocket immediately felt heavier. It was the knife. She feigned nonchalance and made sure Elliot didn't notice what just happened.

"Do as I say or else I'll hit you with enough volts to fry your brains," he warned. "Then maybe I can fuck it out of you after," he mumbled more to himself. Alex heard him though and a sickening feeling made her stomach churn. Millie allowed himself to be pried away from her and complied wordlessly when Elliot barked at him to go up first. He trained the Launcher at Alex to make sure the boy didn't make any attempts of running. The curly-haired man climbed next and a few seconds later, her orders came, commanding her to climb up. She had reached the floor quickly and she was about to stand up when he held her down by the shoulders. A blink of an eye later, she felt her entire torso shake violently as his knee collided with her chest. Alex fell to her knees, clutching her breast and gasping for breath.

"Alex!"

"If you're anything like Minho, I'm sure you'll think of fighting back. Consider that as your warning."

She didn't hear him. The blinding pain triggered another memory and she was getting lost in it.

_She had woken up and found herself strapped in a gurney. She couldn't move. Panicked green eyes looked down and saw the gaping hole on her chest. Bits of bone jutted out of it, quivering in sync with her rapid heartbeat._

_"Min!" she rasped. "Minho..."_

_'Help me,' she thought._

_Faces, half hidden behind surgical masks, looked down on her. Their features were dimmed by the glare of the bare lightbulb above them. One of them was telling her to relax. She couldn't. The pain was unbearable. She didn't even realize she was screaming until a rubber mask was brought down on her face._

"On your feet sweetheart," Elliot said. He wound Alex's ponytail on his left hand and pulled until the younger girl stood on her feet. His right hand clutched on the collar of Millie's shirt. He had no choice but to let the Launcher dangle on his neck, the straps of which bit painfully against his sensitive skin.

"Let's hurry!"

He dragged his captives out of the apothecary. Humid air hit their faces as soon as they stepped out of the small wooden building. Not long after, another lone gunshot echoed in the darkness.

"They had been executing one villager for every ten minutes that you had stayed hidden," Elliot said, not once slowing down his pace. "By that rate, I doubt anyone will be left by tomorrow. So if you don't mind, let's hurry up."

"You sons of bitches," she growled. Even with her hair at his grasp and her head angled sharply on one side, she managed to glare at him. "Don't you dare pin this on us! You're gonna kill all of us anyway. You're after the resources."

"Yes and no," Elliot replied. She could hear him straining from the weight of the Launcher. She made sure that she didn't make things easier for him and leaned heavily on his left arm.

"Yes, that's the plan. No, you're not expected to join everyone else on the mass graveyard they dug up out there. Unless you become a threat that is. Vince has a different kind of hell planned for you and your friends."

Alex's blood ran cold at the revelation. She knew the Right Arm was after the Cure but where did "she and her friends", whoever these friends were, fit in all of this?

"The ten-minute trick worked though," he continued with a smile. "Lisa sang. And boy did she sing beautifully. Now we can get everything done earlier. I wasn't exactly looking forward to burying all those people in midday. Shit, that would've stunk to the high heavens."

She controlled the urge to attack him and played along. She only had one chance of striking. Even then, it guaranteed neither her safety nor Millie's. The best she could hope for was that the attack will stop the Right Arm from succeeding. _No matter what the cost._

"I got them!" Elliot called out as they neared the Town Square. "I got the kid!"

The scattered members of the Right Arm erupted in triumphant cheers as he paraded her and Millie like trophies. They passed by a row of captured Villagers and noticed that some of them sighed with relief. They must have thought that since Millie was found, they were going to be released. Some, like Leo, knew better. They exchanged looks and he mouthed the word "Sorry" before looking away. They both understood. They were doomed.

She looked at Millie who gazed back at her with tearful eyes and a quivering chin. Sometime during all that running, he had lost his glasses. She thought in passing that perhaps it was a good thing. If she couldn't shield him from all of this, at least he wouldn't have to remember the details of this night so vividly.

"Vince!" Elliot called out. A blonde man who stood in the center of the Town Square turned to look at them. His childlike smile irritated her. He looked like a seven-year old on Christmas morning at the sight of them. In his hand was a revolver which was aimed at a bruised and battered Bill. He was kneeling on the ground, seemingly bracing himself for a gunshot to the head. Tears of defeat fell down the old man's face when he saw Alex and Millie.

"You can't kill her," Bill pleaded. "She has it."

"I know," Vince replied flatly. "Or else Elliot here would've gotten rid of her ages ago." he walked over to the three of them and gave their captives a once-over.

"Got everyone we need?" Elliot asked, to which their leader replied with a heavy sigh.

"Just about. We got him," he nodded at the eight-year old, "That's what matters most."

"What about the three Subjects out there?"

Alex's heart pounded in her ears. What did Bill mean by she has it? Who were the three other Subjects? Nothing made sense and yet instinct warned her to be wary. Something wasn't right.

"We'll find them. With the right buyer, one Subject could be worth millions." Vince turned to Alex. "Sorry about your boyfriend though."

"What?" The word painfully scratched at her throat even though it came out as no more than a whisper.

"Minho?" Elliot asked. "What of him?"

"I gave him the cocktail," Vince explained. "It was a huge risk but I was hoping I could squeeze out information from him. After all they had been observing him the longest."

'What do all of this mean? Minho, given a cocktail? _What_?' The questions spun around her head making her nauseous. But nothing made her sicker than the unmistakable sense of foreboding. Right then and there, she knew. Minho was in just as much trouble as she was, if not more.

"He was an animal," Vince said in disgust. "He went out of control before he became of any use to me. I had to cut him loose. He's already gone anyway."

His final sentence was the last straw. Alex heard a ringing in her ears, eerily quiet as it was deafening.

Bill watched the exchange from his spot on the ground. He could tell Vince made a mistake when he uttered his last few words. Something broke inside the girl upon hearing it. And with that damage, something emerged within her, mingling with the terror and despair which were already there. It was anger, anger so massive yet effectively subdued. He had seen it too often on Minho and Newt in the past that he could now easily detect it in its early stages.

It was that kind of anger that now boiled within Alex. Her eyes blazed with it even though the rest of her looked as docile as a puppet. It was enough to cook a catastrophe before the Right Arm knew what hit them. All she needed now was an opportunity to do so.

"Alright let's wrap it all up!" Vince shouted.

Bill caught Alex looking at him questioningly. It didn't take long for him to realize what it meant. She was asking for his permission. Bill nodded.

"I never got to say goodbye," she murmured. Elliot and Millie turned to look at her.

"To Minho. I never got to say goodbye."

"Didn't think you'd snap this early," Elliot replied. His sentence was punctuated with the sound of metal digging against bone. Alex had buried Aris' knife on his arm down to its rusty hilt. His anguished cry threw everyone off. He let her and Millie go. With the rapid movement of someone who had nothing to lose, Alex had grabbed the boy towards her, put an arm over his eyes and the tip of the knife against the bounding pulse on his neck. She pressed it hard enough to break his skin. Blood trickled down Millie's neck and soaked his collar a bright red.

About twenty laser beams from high-caliber rifles rested on her head and chest. Despite this, she couldn't bring herself to feel scared. They could kill her now by shooting her into a bloody mush and she still wouldn't have cared.

"I got twitchy hands," she said loud enough for everyone to hear. Furious green eyes locked on Vince who aimed his own gun at her.

"Shoot now and you can safely bet that I'm taking this precious little shit with me."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Weelp. This is one of the longer chapters. Still no PRESENT MinLex action but I really REALLY hope y'all still have patience left for this story. I don't know _when_ they'll be seeing each other again but I'm pretty sure it'll happen. Like Alex said, where he goes, she goes. Where he stays, she stays. That has got to mean something right? Oh and that line really was taken from the Book of Ruth in the version of the Bible mentioned above. I hereby claim that I totally didn't make that line up. How was it? I really hope you guys review and give me your take on this chapter. Pretty please?

Oh and before I go, I kind of noticed as well that Sonya has been getting quite a bit of hate (and this is upsetting some of the readers. I apologize for that). As flattering as it is to find people rooting for my OC I wouldn't want bashers for Sonya...or any of the characters for that matter. (Well maybe Elliot) but Sonya mostly. Believe it or not she's my favorite minor character in this story. Too bad she's a victim of circumstance. It's so easy to fight for someone when you know that he/she is wrapped around your finger/stupidly inlove/whipped with you. It's a different story altogether when it's a one-sided thing. It takes a lot of balls to keep on fighting when you know you're on the losing side. I thought she would've packed her bags and disappeared a long time ago but...well, she's still fighting. Hope you see the good in that. Again, reviews will be very much appreciated. Love you!


	39. Crossfire

Alex was screwed.

Knowing her luck, she had probably been in similarly hopeless situations in the past. Too bad she couldn't remember how she lived through them.

'But then you can only get lucky too many times, can't you?' she thought wryly to herself.

Millie was struggling against her grasp. He whimpered in pain while the tip of her knife poked at the side of his neck.

"Keep still," she hissed. She flinched when more than one of the laser beams found their way in her eyes, trying to blind her.

"What the shuck!" she growled.

"Let the boy go, Alexandria," Vince said, maintaining the calm in his voice. Beside him, Elliot had raised his Launcher and aimed it at her. Though she felt terrible for it, she shifted her position so that she was directly behind Millie, their prime target.

"Go on," she challenged the former Paradise leader. "But just so you know if the shock makes me cut through his artery, you only have about half a minute to harvest viable blood from him. Can't use samples from a corpse right? Does that seem like a fair deal to you?"

"You wouldn't do it," Vince replied, glaring daggers at her. "You _can't_. You don't have the guts, you coward."

Alex raised an eyebrow and shifted the knife. The maneuver pried open the skin from the wound, making more blood run down Millie's neck. She prayed fervently that the boy kept still. She was trying to make the cut as shallow as possible.

"Wanna bet?" she asked again.

"Be reasonable, Alex!" Elliot exclaimed. "The world is desperate for a cure! This is only a means to an end-"

"Don't give me that bullshit!" she interjected. "You don't give a damn about what happens to the world. You only care about how you'll survive in it."

Whoever had the Cure had the upper hand. With most parts of the world plunged into anarchy, it was their golden ticket to survival. Millie, her and the rest of the people in that list were merely barter chips in a worldwide power play that the Right Arm participated in.

"Alex?" Millie whispered, pulling her out of her anxious thoughts. "I don't want them to take me. Do whatever you can, I don't want them to have me." The young boy's request made her arms break into goose pimples. It made everything all the more scarier for her. She now had everyone's blessing to take the final plunge. But could she do it? She looked at her shaking hand. She felt droplets of sweat running down her back.

'Perhaps Vince was right after all,' she thought.

"Fuck, I don't have time for this," she heard him say. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he aimed the pistol at her face. She squeezed her eyes shut on instinct and braced herself for the blow, hoping that it would be a quick one.

She expected a single gunshot. What she heard was an entire army. All around them, cries of alarm mingled with the sounds of gunshots and Launchers going off. Green eyes flew open. Alex's jaw grew slack as she watched Vince screaming in pain, his face red from the strain. His right hand, which held the gun just moments ago, was now a ruined piece of meat. One of the fingers was hanging from it by a thin piece of skin. Blood was spurting out of the raw stump.

"Holy..."Alex mumbled. She looked around her for the possible shooter. On her far right, she saw a woman clad in immaculate white. The barrel of her advanced-looking pistol was still smoking while she maintained its aim at Vince. At least three men in black uniforms held out transparent shields to protect her.

It didn't take long before Alex's attention was drawn to a familiar high-itched hum up ahead. When she turned to see where it came from, her heart nearly jumped out of her throat. Elliot stood in front of her, aiming a Launcher at her and Millie. When the barrel glowed bright blue, she just knew it would be too late to run, too late to do anything. "Look out!" someone shouted.

And then the top of Elliot's head exploded.

Alex was glad that Millie's eyes were still covered because she could already tell that the image will be giving her nightmares for ages. The rest of him slumped to his knees before falling down the ground with a dull thud. Cole came into view behind him just as he was putting his hunting rifle down and cocking it at the ready. The olive skinned boy sprinted towards them and grabbed Millie by the shoulder.

"Do you wanna get shot at?!" he asked angrily.

'Not by you I don't,' Alex thought silently, still shocked at what Cole had done. "You're back!"

"Keep your Minho questions until later! Get down!"

He ushered the young boy behind a nearby tree. Alex was right behind them on her hands and knees when she spotted Bill a few yards away. His belly was flat against the ground and his hands were over his head in a futile attempt to protect it from the bullets and Launcher grenades that crisscrossed above them.

"Bill!" She reached out to him. The man's wild eyes found her and he quickly crawled towards her while staying as close to the ground as possible. With the help of the adrenaline rush, she managed to pull him closer with just one long tug.

"Where's Millie?!" Bill shouted through the gunshots and explosions. Alex nodded at the huge tree in front of them. Cole's head appeared behind the trunk and he signaled at them to move. She had never crawled so fast in her entire life. She could feel stones and debris digging into the thin skin of her joints but she didn't dare stop. As soon as she reached the safe spot behind the tree, she went up on her knees and crushed the boy in a bearhug.

"Thank you for keeping still," she murmured. All three of them flinched every time Cole's rifle went off. The sound of chaos and panic reminded them of Denver during its worst days. Death was everywhere.

"Bill what the hell is going on?" she asked. Without missing a beat, she tore a strip of cloth from her long-sleeved shirt and pressed it on Millie's neck.

"Those are Chancellor Paige's men," the old man shouted through the noise. "With the way things are looking, I have a feeling that they're on our side."

"That's right," Cole piped in before cocking the gun once again. "We hitched a ride from them back in the desert before they headed here."

Alex found that hard to believe. Everywhere she looked, villagers of Paradise were being caught in a crossfire between the Right Arm and the people of this Chancellor Paige. Most of these villagers were defenseless. Many of them were women and children. And despite their best efforts, quite a number of them go down the ground, either wounded or worse.

A commotion on the northeast caught her eye. One of the villagers was head-to-head with a member of the Right Arm. It seemed as though they were trying to wrestle each other to the ground. The villager had a bulky built but the latter was more powerful. After being stuck in a headlock for a couple of seconds, he kneed the villager on the stomach and flung him to the ground. Fear stirred within her when she recognized who it was.

"Guys that's Gally!" she exclaimed. The Right Arm member walked back to pick an object on the ground. It was a gun.

"Gally!"

"Alex, no!" Cole moved to grab the hem of her shirt in an attempt to stop her. The former Med-jack ducked out of reach and continued to run to the Builder's rescue. No way was she going to just stand there and watch one of the Gladers die when she had the choice of helping them.

Gally was down on the ground. His head was still spinning and he was in terrible pain. He couldn't run fast enough even if he wanted to. A quick look at the barrel of the gun was enough for him to accept his fate. After closing his eyes, he raised his hands in surrender and braced for the bullet to end him. When it didn't come, he cracked one eye open.

"Holy shit," he murmured. A pair of legs had wrapped around his attackers waist from behind. A fisted hand appeared above his left shoulder. He didn't notice it was clutching something until the hand gave the object a sharp twist and revealed that it was holding on to the handle of a knife. Its blade was already planted guard-deep on the hollow of the man's shoulder. A slight tilt of Gally's head confirmed his suspicion. The person on his attacker's back was none other than Clint's first protege: Alex.

With one swift motion, she pulled the blade out and jumped down to the ground. They both watched as the bigger man fell down on his back and began to convulse. Blood spurted out of his wound like a pulsating fountain. He tried to talk but only managed to make wet, gurgling sounds.

"Whoa," Gally breathed out, shooting Alex an incredulous look. He turned at the man again and realized that he had gone still. "Did you just..." The tumble to the ground failed to knock his breath out but the sight of the Med-jack putting down a grown man twice _his _size certainly did the trick. "You killed him," he found himself repeating the words over and over again. Alex frowned at him.

'Better him than you, Eyebrows,' she thought to herself before reaching over to get the man's gun. She handed it to Gally.

"Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

The Builder blinked a couple of times and nodded. "Yeah. You?"

She didn't know. The prolonged adrenaline rush gave her the familiar, detached feeling she usually had when dealing with trigger-happy Cranks. Her blood had run cold even as it raced through her veins. There was an incessant pounding in her ears. She wasn't sure if these were considered okay but they made fear's grip on her nerves loosen and that would have to do. She was done with being scared. Circumstances had left them no choice but to fight back.

"I know a good hiding place nearby. Help me get as many people in there as we can."

"Why am I not surprised," Gally mumbled.

Together, the two former Gladers began pulling aside every villager they could get their hands on and herded them into the apothecary. Bill and Millie were among them. Ten people turned to twenty. Many more instinctively followed the trail of people seeking shelter. Alex ushered them in while Gally stayed at the back shooting any attacker.

"Easy! Easy!" She heard a familiar voice say. "Trap doors are on the end of the hallway on the right and inside the drying room!"

Aris appeared from the front door and nodded at her as he helped in herding the scared crowd in the large, wooden building. To their relief, everyone managed to fit inside. A couple of yards away, they saw Clint and Frypan doing the same thing, leading women and children in the clinic.

"Hey, you dropped something," she said to Aris, handing back his bloodied knife. He looked at it and shook his head.

"Keep it. I have something even better." He reached out for that something behind him.

"Whoa," Alex exclaimed. The freckled boy smiled smugly while brandishing his new-found double barreled shotgun. "Watch it," he said calmly, aiming at someone behind her. She ducked just in time for the weapon to let out an ear-splitting bang. The shot of lead pellets found its target a couple of yards away on a Right Arm member's chest. Alex had to admit. She was impressed.

"Aris has the best aim amongst all of us," Gally pointed out as he walked over towards them. "He's not above showing it off either."

"In that case it's good to have you back, you cocky shank."

The three of them knew they needed a change in their game plan. Gally stayed behind the apothecary entrance to defend it. They managed to find Cole in the middle of the carnage and had asked him to stand on-guard with the Builder. They checked the clinic and saw that Clint and Frypan were still taking people in. Thomas and Brenda stood on each side of the stream of people, shooting anyone who dared aim their way. They didn't even have to talk to each other. The couple moved in a rhythm only they could feel, an ability which could only be achieved by countless hours spent fighting alongside each other. Despite the destruction surrounding her, the sap in Alex found herself thinking that sooner rather than later, those two will end up marrying each other...if that hasn't happened yet.

"Alex! Did you hear anything I just said?"

Alex turned and came face-to-face with Aris' annoyed frown. "What?"

"I said I'll go with Leo up the guard tower. I'll get better vantage point there. How about you?"

"I uh...I need to find myself a gun then I'll follow you. Go!" She shooed him away. Aris bought the lie and ran across the open space of the Town Square with his head down. Things weren't as bad as they were earlier but shots were still fired. There were little skirmishes here and there but they were easily finished by the combined forces of the Chancellor's men and the villagers who fought back.

Alex was lost. And because the rush was still there, she felt restless. The whole time this battle erupted, she didn't once had a strategy. She only acted upon instinct and did what had to be done. Everyone was doing everything now. This left her mulling over her more selfish agenda.

_When all this is over, come find me._

Those words haunted her dreams for as long as she could remember. It was only after they arrived in Paradise and she was confronted by a very pissed Minho did she put two and two together and realized that the message had come from him. Even then, she hadn't thought more of it. She didn't think she had to. It looked as though sometime during the long wait, Minho lost hope on being found. He moved on. So she did the same.

At least she thought she did.

Now with him going missing and Vince telling her that he was a goner, this whole "Come find me" business just took on a new and literal meaning. She had to find him. She couldn't wait for "all this" to be over. It may never be over. And in slim chance that it did finish, it might be too late for him.

'But where do I start?' she thought miserably. Her answer came when she turned her gaze to the left.

After all the crap he had put everyone through, Alex realized that Vince had made a mark on her and that she could now recognize him anywhere. The commander of the Right Arm looked like he was retreating. He was heading towards the western exit. Two of his men flanked him, aiming their handguns left and right. Feeling both brave and stupid at the same time, she picked up the wooden spear by her foot and sprinted towards the wounded deserter.

On the highest tower in town, located on the northern part of Paradise, Leo spotted a familiar figure in his weapon's scope. The figure ran as fast as her legs could take her. In one hand, she carried the blunt half of a broken spear.

"Has Alex lost her shucking mind?" Leo asked himself. "What the shuck is she doing?"

"No idea," Aris replied. He looked ahead at the direction where she was headed. "Or maybe I do. Let's cover her!"

Exactly six seconds later, a bullet from a sniper rifle dug a hole through one man's skull and came out of his mouth, taking most of his oral cavity with it. The impact threw him forward, startling Vince who stood on his left. The blonde exchanged alarmed looks with the other man beside him before the latter was flung away with the impact of another bullet. The gore distracted him so much that he neither heard Alex's war cry nor see her heading his way until it was too late.

The spear smashed onto the side of his head, right where she was sure it would hurt. For a moment, all that Vince could see was white. He came around lying on the ground on his back with a raging girl sitting on his chest. He could only make out a few profanities and the word "him" before he felt hands going around his neck. On instinct, he flung his good hand in front of him, smacking Alex across the face. He gulped when he saw the look on her bright green eyes.

'Shit,' he thought to himself.

And then came a pain so intense he ended up shrieking like a banshee. It was as if nails were repeatedly driven into what was left of his right hand. He gazed tearfully at his right and saw that Alex had stomped on it. The rubber sole of her boot felt like fire on his raw flesh.

"You think people who aren't in the list should be discarded?" Alex asked. Her voice sounded hoarse from all the shouting and crying that she had done. "How about I start with you?" Her right hand reached behind her, took the bloody knife that she had tucked in her belt and aimed the blade at his neck. She moved with a precision brought about by too many chance encounters with too many Cranks. It was her only consolation for surviving through hell.

"If you kill me then you'll never know what I put in that cocktail," he growled. Vince smirked when he noticed the hesitation in her movements. The murder in her eyes was gone and was replaced with an almost palpable amount of fear.

"If you kill me, you kill Minho," he added. The knife disappeared from under his chin, which provided temporarily relief. Then he felt a jab on his thigh. Alex had dug the knife into his flesh with as much force as she could muster. She didn't hear his scream. She didn't stop pushing either until a pair of hands took her from under her arms and pulled her away from Vince. She let go of the blade's handle, momentarily enjoying the sight of it sticking out from Vince's leg until someone spun her around.

"Alex stop!" Cole shouted. Her grip on her shoulders tightened. His blue eyes searched hers, as though making sure it really was Alex he pulled away from the poor man and not some deranged look-a-like. She cocked her head on one side. Maybe she was imagining it, but if she didn't know any better, she thought he looked scared. Behind them, a group of the Chancellor's men surrounded Vince and aimed their weapons at him.

"You've done enough," he added.

"No I haven't," she replied.

Cole was wrong. There was more that needed to be done.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_"Where's Minho?" The answer: In the next chapter. I had to cut this chappy in half because it's getting too long and has become an eye-full. Ugh.


	40. Monster

Minho.  
Thomas.  
Siggy, which, to Alex's surprise, turned out to be Frypan's real name.  
Two girls from Group B named Tanya and Rosario.  
Alexandria.  
Brenda.  
Isabel.  
A seven-year old boy named Peter.

These were the names on Vince's list. Most of them were identified to have been "sent" to Paradise. Excluding Brenda, who requested for permission to stay in the clinic to help the wounded, and Minho who was nowhere to be found, they were segregated from everyone else in the emergency bay and was informed that they were to receive medical treatment in one of the meeting rooms of the First House. Millie was also sent in with them since he was an "identified target" according to one of the medics.

Alex looked around the eerily quiet room. Only the shuffling of their feet and the voices of Ava's crew calling their names could be heard. The rest of them were either still in shock or too tired to talk. They just stood in one corner avoiding each others' gazes. Some were crying silently to themselves.

She saw him before he saw her. He stood at the very back of the crowd, quietly observing the medics as they scurried around the place. When he turned around and saw her, his posture relaxed a little bit. His crossed arms fell to his sides and he sighed with relief as she walked over to him.

"Thank God you're okay."

"Don't _ever _scare us like that again," she replied before giving him a tight hug. When she pulled away, she noticed that Thomas was frowning at her.

"What happened to your face?"

She reached up and touched her left cheek. When she looked at her fingertips, they were moist and sticky. A sharp sting emanated from the spot that she just touched. The Launcher must have scalded her.

"Elliot happened. The guy's a traitor by the way. Like we need more assholes in this world," she replied.

Thomas' eyes darkened at the mention of his name. "So I heard. Is he-"

"Dead," she cut in, cringing as the image of his exploding forehead replayed in her mind's eye. "Don't ask me how."

"Good," he deadpanned. A long and awkward pause followed. Both of them had the same person in mind but were too anxious to start talking. Millie and Peter's name were called out in the background.

"Please tell me he's alive. Please," Alex blurted out. She couldn't take it anymore. When Thomas nodded, she didn't hold back the relieved smile which split her lip further and made her burnt cheek sting. She knew the relief would only be temporary. "Where'd they take him?"

"I heard some of the men set up a camp near the Patch," he replied in a low voice so only she could hear him. "That must be where they took him. Cole, Sonya and Harriet volunteered to head out there to offer reinforcement." He sounded skeptical about the last bit.

"Vince said something about giving him a cocktail. He said-" She paused, fighting against the lump in her throat. She struggled to continue with a steady voice. "He said that he was already gone. Thomas, what did he mean? Why would he say something like that?"

The dark-haired boy snuck his head out the door. Then he strained to see what was happening in front of the crowd and counted the number of medics in the room.

"Thomas?" she asked again.

"Let me show you."

A few minutes later, Alex's name was called out. There was no response. The girl was nowhere to be found. So was Thomas.

* * *

In a span of a few hours, Paradise had transformed from a peaceful agricultural village into an armed fortress. Large trucks filled with ammunition and armed men guarded all four exits. Spot lights were installed in the guard towers. The air grew cold with paranoia and fear. Alex suggested that they picked the exit where Aris or Leo was posted on.

"Maybe they can help us," she offered.

Thomas gave her a lop-sided grin. "That was my plan too. That's why I told the both of them to stay on the east gate. It's the nearest one to the Patch, isn't it?"

Alex was dumbfounded. With everything that was happening around them, she had no idea how Thomas could think four steps ahead.

Aris spotted them approaching and climbed down the tower to greet them.

"I'm guessing you're heading out to see Minho," he said.

"That obvious?" Alex mumbled, scratching the back of her head.

"Did you get what I asked for?" Thomas asked, looking around to make sure nobody noticed. Aris shrugged and plucked two rifles which were leaning against the foot of the tower. "We've secured the parameters but these guys are playing it safe. Try to stay away from the spotlights," he instructed. "If you run outwards for five minutes straight, you'll be out of its range. Try to stay on its right side. I'll move that damn thing a bit so it doesn't catch you and shuck. The last thing we need is for them to think you two are Cranks or those Right Arm wads. And one more thing."

Alex shivered when Aris handed her a sheathed knife. Nevertheless, she took it.

"I saw what you did to Vince. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Neither did I. Thomas, shall we?" she asked hurriedly. She had the sudden urge to jump out of her bones, as if it could make her forget about the stabbing spree she had earlier.

She was thankful that Thomas didn't ask about the topic. After the initial sprint from the east exit, the remaining half-hour trek to the Patch was mostly quiet. The genius boy on her left was too lost in his own thoughts. Whatever he saw out there was still eating at him. Alex was too afraid to ask about it. In fact, she was terrified to talk. Vince's words still haunted her and she had absolutely no idea what she was going to see. At the same time, she knew she _had _to see Minho. Something about what people were and weren't telling her told her that he was in deep trouble.

As if to punish her further, memories of their last disaster of a conversation played on her mind on repeat. She had _wanted_ to hurt him so much. She remembered the crestfallen look on his face. She remembered how glad she was then that it wasn't just her who felt miserable with how life was turning out.

'How selfish could you be?' she thought, burning with shame at her immature antics. Then she remembered the panic which drowned her upon hearing that he was captured. Since then, not a minute passed when she didn't wish she could take all her words back and stuff them in her mouth.

"At first we all thought it was just Griever venom." Thomas' scratchy voice startled her out of her thoughts. "It looked like it. The signs we saw in him were similar to those of the boys' who were stung in the Glade. Ava's team found us in the desert while we were on our way to you guys. Initially, we were relieved. They had the Grief serum, the antidote with them. Just one dose of that and Minho's survival would have been ensured."

A curious pain erupted in her chest at the words, "would have been". She was terrified to find out the truth but at the same time she was drawn to it.

"One of the medics had the initiative to check the toxins in his blood first before giving him the shot. Minho was lucky that he did. Because then we realized that we couldn't give him the serum just yet. They've mixed the venom with something else. Chances are if we gave him the shot, we'd be speeding up the process of..."

"Killing him," she added numbly. Vince's foreboding words now started to make sense.

_He's already gone anyway._

Thomas ran a hand over his tired face. She could see the tears that were stuck in his long lashes.

"We're here," he said.

The first things that she noticed were the two thick wire ropes that were attached to the branches of the largest trees in front of them. She traced the ropes with her eyes and walked faster up the incline to see where their ends were attached to.

"Alex, I don't think-"

"Shut up, Thomas," she interjected. She didn't even notice that she was already running until she reached the top of the slope. And then almost wished she hadn't.

The edges of her vision dimmed until there was just a small tunnel in the middle which she could see through. And Minho's shape filled it.

His head was down and he was on his knees. He was learning forward heavily. If it wasn't for the wire ropes wrapped around his raw wrists, she knew for sure that he would have face-planted on the ground a long time ago. She noticed the awkward way his arms were stretched out. His weight was forcing his upper limbs away from his shoulders. The resistance from the wire ropes pushed his arms backwards. The pain it should have caused would have been enough to wake him up. But he remained still. Too still.

Out of nowhere, Cole jumped in front of them.

"The hell are you doing here?!" he asked angrily. "How did you get out?"

She could vaguely hear Thomas behind her explaining to Cole why they were there. Alex's eyes never left the Runner's lifeless form.

'What happened?' She thought through the pounding in her ears. 'Minho, wake up.'

"This is dangerous Thomas, you know that-"

"Minho!" she called out. She could feel her elbow connect with Cole's flesh as she fought her way out of his grasp.

"Alex, no!" someone called out.

Her feet pounded on the ground without her having to think about it. She ran as fast as she could to the beat of the heart that was about to break through her ribs.

"Minho!" she shouted again.

The eighteen-year old looked up to the sound of his name. He saw the figure running towards him. His brain immediately processed it as a threat. Instinct overrode logic and he went after it with the intention to harm.

Alex gasped and skidded to a stop when he lifted his head up. She was stunned at what she saw. Blue, rope-like veins ran all over his ashen face. His eyes glared menacingly at her. And as he sprinted and came closer to her, she noticed the same ghastly veins running across the length of his pale arms. He was screaming as she charged her. Even then, Alex was glued on the spot. Her rifle hung on her side, all but forgotten.

"Look out!" a female voice exclaimed.

"No don't shoot!" Thomas begged. "Alex stay-"

The ropes reached their maximum length and Minho came to an abrupt halt inches away from her still form. The impact tore the muscles on his shoulders but he barely felt the pain. As for Alex, she didn't even flinch as droplets of spit landed on her face. Her wide green eyes continued to stare at him. Under the bright light of the full moon, Minho saw his reflection in them. He was a monster.

"Min...it's me," she said, voice barely a whisper. "Come on."

His conscious self came back. Almost immediately, his eyes softened in recognition and shame.

'I made her look like that,' he thought to himself. 'She's terrified of me.'

"Minho look at me," she pleaded. He shook his head as a slither of an old memory came to mind.

_Where you go, I'll go..._

"Don't touch me," he growled when her right hand reached out to touch his ruined face. He flinched away. "It's not safe. _I'm _not safe."

Despite his protests, Alex reached out and cupped his cheeks with both hands.

"You're burning up," she gasped. She brushed his messy hair away from his face. The gesture was the one good thing that he had felt for the past couple of hours and he sighed with relief. Oblivious to the people who had their rifles readily aimed at Minho, they both stayed in that position for a few more minutes. She continued raking his hair back while he sat half-asleep with his head in her hand. She tried to hide her distress when she saw a part of the stinger sticking out of his chest.

"It looks nastier than it feels," he said, following the line of her horrified gaze. "It doesn't hurt. I swear."

Alex nodded, fervently blinking back the hot tears in her eyes. It was her turn to be strong for him. And dissolving into waterworks didn't count as being strong in her book.

"We'll get that out anyway," she said. "One way or another. We'll figure something out."

"Can't," he whispered. Brown locked on green. "There's no cure."

"Bullshit-"

"Alexandria?" The mention of her full name made her stop. Minho chuckled mirthlessly at her.

"I know, alright? I was there when they said so."

Alex tore her gaze away from him. He could almost see the wheels in her head working overtime, looking for a solution.

"Do something for me will ya?" When she didn't respond, he continued, "A few years back you promised that you won't let me turn into something I'm not."

'Something?' she thought, looking up at him. "Minho, please-"

"I hope you keep your word. When the time comes, when you're ready, do what you have to do. Do you understand?"

Alex understood perfectly well, though she wished she hadn't.

Minho was asking her to kill him.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Thank you for the reviews you guys! I know it doesn't look like it but they means LOADS to us. Hope you continue reading this story. Love you!


	41. Crybaby

He had smiled at her then. Despite herself and the hopelessness of the situation he was in, she smiled back. Because beneath the damage brought about by the poison in his blood, she could still see the boy whom she made so many promises to, the same boy whom she couldn't quite make herself forget.

Because it was Minho.

"That's my girl," he said. And then the rage took over and he began screaming and thrashing from his hallucinations.

Alex turned her back on him and slowly made her way to where the rest of the group was waiting for her.

"What did he say?" Sonya asked.

"I...He...I think he did a Newt on me."

The murmurs among them stopped at the mention of the dead Glader's name. The only sounds that could be heard were the crickets in the bushes and Minho's screams from afar. Thomas' eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"Sorry, he did what now?" he asked.

Alex didn't utter another word after that.

* * *

Once news was passed on to the Paradise-based headquarters about the two "escapees", they were ordered to return to camp along with Cole, Sonya and Harriet. The five of them were escorted to the First House by two soldiers. Alex was overwhelmed by the sudden influx of security in the wooden building. Just yesterday she could have waltzed inside the place in her farming boots without any resistance from anyone. Now, every door had a heavily-armed man guarding it and access to each room was strictly monitored.

"What the hell did they do to this place?" Thomas mumbled.

"Don't worry, kiddo. This is only temporary," the soldier on his right replied. If she hadn't spoken, none of them would have thought she was a woman. All of them looked identical in their all-black uniforms and helmets. "Once we head out, all this paranoia is going with us. Besides, Jaime gave us his consent."

Alex had spotted the sole functioning representative of Paradise at the sick bay earlier during the night, looking every bit like someone who had just survived the worst night of his life. She thought the poor man didn't really have much of a choice but kept this opinion to herself.

The other soldier leading the group wasn't even close enough to knock on the door of the Council Room when it swung wide open, revealing the blonde woman in immaculate white whom Alex saw earlier. All of them stopped in their tracks. The two soldiers stood in attention.

"Chancellor Paige," the male soldier addressed her. "We've brought in the two escapees as well as three of the Subjects we found in the desert earlier."

"Thank you, Travis," she replied. "Is everyone in the rescue team here aside from Jorge?"

Harriet was the first to gather enough of her wits to answer. "Gally and Brenda are outside helping with the casualties."

"That's fine. Please, come in. We need to work fast. I'm afraid we don't have much time." Ava opened the door wider and the five of them quickly piled inside the spacious room. Alex was the last one to enter. And as she walked past the Chancellor, she paused. She tried to remember where she had seen her before the shootout earlier. Her memory may not be trustworthy but she still had faith in her gut instincts. At that moment, it was nagging her to remember something. She had seen that woman before. The question now was "where".

Ava smiled at her before putting her hand on her back and leading her to the long table of the Council Room.

"You never cease to surprise me, Alexandria," she said softly so only Alex could hear. The green-eyed girl threw her a surprised look but remained quiet.

There was already one person seated at the far right of the table when they came in. He was an old man with thick gray hair who introduced himself as Hans.

"Sup," Cole greeted him upon catching the older man looking at him with a mirthful smile.

"I've heard so many stories about you, Mr. de Silva," Hans said. Cole raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Cranks always have more interesting stories to tell so I'm not surprised."

"But you're no Crank anymore, aren't you?"

"I'm still interesting, though."

Alex rolled her eyes. Across the table, Harriet and Sonya chuckled at the boy's audacity. Ava walked across the room and took her seat on the head of the table.

"Right. You might be wondering why I brought you here. It's because I believe that for this rescue attempt to succeed, we need people whom the subject is familiar with, people he trusts. It lessens the chance of further aggravating him, you see."

'He has a name,' Alex thought to herself. 'Call him by his shucking name.'

"Hans," Ava continued with a no-nonsense tone, "I need updates. What are we waiting for?"

"Julia is still trying to get intel on Vince. Jorge is helping her with it. It could be anybody's guess as to what he injected in that kid."

"It's taking too long," she replied, clearly not impressed, "That boy does _not_ have the luxury of time." No one said a word in return. Everyone knew who she was talking about.

"Inject him with one of our neurotransmitters. Let him have a taste of his own medicine if that's what it takes."

"That won't be necessary." Jorge stood at the back of room, wiping his hands with a red-stained rag. The metallic smell of blood filled the enclosed space making everyone's skin crawl. On his left stood a woman dressed in the same black ensemble as the soldiers' but without the helmet. Her brunette hair was tied in a high ponytail. Alex recognized her in an instant. It was Julia.

"Jorge took care of it. The bastard sang," she reported. The two newcomers took their seats at the very end of the table. Jorge took the one beside Alex.

"Thanks for preparing that knife for me," he said, nudging her shoulder. "It worked wonders."

Alex didn't reply and trained her gaze on her shoes, wishing away the looks that she could feel boring on to her. When she dared to look up again, she could see Julia smiling at her.

"Look who came back from the dead and grew some balls."

"This is starting to feel like a reunion in Hell," Hans piped in.

"Chancellor Paige, I'm not sure I'm following," Thomas said. He was starting to get irritated with the mindless chatter around him. "What happened back there? What does the Right Arm want from us? What did they give to Minho? I know we're working in crunch time but for me to be of any help at all I need to know what the hell is going on."

Harriet agreed with him. "Thomas is right. Yesterday morning, our biggest problem was figuring out how to effectively supply potable water to everyone. Now, we're in the middle of a warzone and half of our friends are either dead or getting there. What we want to know is why?"

Ava nodded in understanding. She knew things needed to be explained even if its only in a nutshell.

"The Right Arm planted a spy in WICKED many years ago. When the organization fell, he managed to survive and go through the Flat Trans to Paradise. That spy was Elliot. Over time, he managed to re-establish contact with Vince and gave him the coordinates of this location. Paradise was a primary target for two reasons. First, it was situated in the middle of fertile lands. As you already know, the world is desperate for resources, many of which are found within the vicinity. Second, Paradise has a concentrated number of Immunes with a rare genetic mutation. We call it the Torch Gene. Now is not the time to explain what this means but you have to know that this makes you targets who are more sought after than other Immunes."

"The names on the list," Thomas said. He looked as though a lightbulb had lit up on the top of his head. "Vince mentioned something about a list with names in it. He came here looking for them...for us."

"That's right. The stakes got higher when they found out that Millie managed to stumble in here. Paradise is now basically a goldmine," Hans said.

"But I don't understand. Why did he attack Minho like that?" Thomas mused. "His name was on the shucking list. If we're as sought after as you say we are then why did he sign him off that easily?"

Julia answered his questions. "He was desperate for information, mostly on how to detect the gene and how this was correlated to the Cure. Most of our data regarding killzone patterns and blood chemistry results came from Minho, the first Subject of the Trials who tested positive for the Torch Gene. Naturally, he thought the boy was privy to our experiments the same way that you, Thomas, were with the Trials. Too bad for him, none of people we were testing on were even aware that they had it. We expected something like this to happen. We figured that the less you knew, the safer you will be. Anyway, Vince is an idiot. He thought the venom mixed with Neurotransmitter Five would work as a truth serum for Minho. That's the mystery cocktail by the way. In a way he had a point. On anybody else, Munie or non-Munie, it would've worked more predictably...before it killed them that is. The chemical reactions of the brain changes drastically with the gene added in the equation, especially if the mutation is very pronounced in the blood like in Minho's, Siggy's," she locked eyes with Thomas, "and your girlfriend, Brenda's. Make sure you tell her. No use hiding this now."

There was a long pause as everyone waited for Julia's words to sink in. Sonya, who had remained silent since the start of the meeting, finally spoke up.

"So now we know what Vince gave him. Can we or can we not give him the Grief Serum?"

Julia thought long to construct the most appropriate answer to the girl's question. "Depends if you're willing to give it to him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hazel eyes narrowed at her.

The former manager of WICKED's Medical Team sighed heavily. They had reached the part where she had to break the news to them. It was one of the things in her job that she hated the most.

"I'm assuming you remember the Tank Test."

An eerie silence fell upon the former Subjects. Even Alex had fear flash through her eyes for a moment.

"You know, there's a reason why the entire experiment only lasted for fifteen minutes. We can only expose you to the neurotransmitters for short periods of time or else we would put you at a high risk of going into cardiac arrest. What those neurotransmitters do is they put the body in constant state of alarm. Adrenaline floods the bloodstream and makes all the organs work double, even triple time. It metabolizes nutrients faster than we can replace them. How long has it been since Vince injected him with the cocktail?"

Thomas shrugged. "Six, maybe eight hours? I'm not sure." With everything that was happening around them, keeping track of time was the least of his priorities.

Julia gave them a pointed look. "Imagine having an eight-hour panic attack. That's what's happening to him now. In fact, I'm surprised he lasted this long."

"He is young and he is fit," Ava replied. "It's the only reason his heart managed to endure that much workload. The hallucinations caused by the venom aren't helping either. "

"Technically speaking, the serum _can _work on both chemicals. We've tested it before."

"What's the catch?" Thomas asked cautiously.

"The serum's effects are immediate. He's been under that neurotransmitter for too long. You want an honest answer Thomas? It could be the only thing that's keeping him alive now. If we take that away, there's a very big chance that all his organs will stop as well. He could die. Scratch that, he _will _die. Most likely."

Julia glanced warily at Alex, half-expecting her to have her own panic attack. She had worked with her for years when she was younger. She knew how anxious she became when put under pressure. But the green-eyed girl didn't even shed a tear. She stared straight ahead, as though in deep thought.

'That's new," Julia thought. She continued, "I'm really sorry. The truth is, it could already be too late for Minho."

"He's already dying anyway."

All heads turned to Alex. It was the first sentence she uttered since they entered the Council Room. When she looked at her former mentor, the latter noticed her dull, tired gaze.

'He's not the only one who's dying, is he Alex?' she thought.

"They managed to rig the neurotransmitter," the younger girl continued. "Its effects aren't stopping and his body is on the verge of crashing. At this rate, he could be dead by noontime. Now if there's even the tiniest chance that he might survive the effects of the Grief Serum, then I say we go for it."

Hans leaned forward on the table, resting his chin on his interlocked fingers. He stared at the slight girl, trying to decipher what her agenda was. He had to admit, she had a point, a good one at that. But it was a good point that he never would have expected from her, not with Minho's life at stake. On top of that, her calm demeanor was almost unsettling. It seemed off.

"Are you sure about this?" Cole asked, verbalizing what everyone else was thinking.

"The cocktail is messing with his mind. It's making him violent and unpredictable. It wouldn't be safe for him or for any one of us to wait it out. Besides, turning into some crazed psycho is the last thing he wants to happen. He told me so."

"We don't really have much of a choice, do we?" Hans asked. "So the question now is, who's going to give him the Grief Serum?"

Once again, the room fell into deafening silence. It was all too easy to discuss possibilities and theories. But when it came down to it, no one wanted to do the final deed. No one wanted to risk the possibility of being remembered as the person who killed Minho.

"I'll do it."

When Alex uttered those three words, she could feel her stomach dropping into an endless hole. She felt detached from herself, as though it was a stranger she heard speaking and not herself. Never in her life did she expect at simple, heartfelt promise that she made when she was fourteen to get her in this situation. Still, despite the despair weighing down on her, she tried to tell herself that it was the right thing to do, that it was the least she could do for him now.

_"You know those kids who lost it? D'you remember them?"_ he had said._ "I don't wanna end up like them."_

With the confidence of someone who thought she had the world in her hand, she had given him that ill-fated promise. _"You won't. I won't let you."_

She had failed him.

* * *

Once the decision was done to give Minho the Grief Serum, everybody was given ten minutes to put themselves together and prepare for the mission. Alex and Cole ran back to their cabin. There, she took off her torn shirt and changed into a clean, long-sleeved vest. The scar on her chest peaked through the low neckline. This time she couldn't be bothered with hiding it. "Fuck that," she mumbled.

Her cargo pants were stained with Vince's blood on its hip part but she decided to leave it on. A sinister voice in her head taunted her that she will be spilling more blood anyway once they were done with the mission.

'So what's the point?' it said. Alex agreed with it. "Fuck that as well, I guess."

She was nearly finished with dressing the burn on her cheek when someone knocked at her bedroom door. "Come in."

Cole slipped inside the room. Like her, he had also changed out of his blood-stained clothes. She noticed bandages peeking out of his fingerless gloves.

"Are your hands okay?" she asked.

Cole looked at them and flexed his fingers. "I'll live. And your face?"

"I'll live."

Both were silent as Alex put on the final dressing over the scalded skin. From the fancy packaging that it came with, he could tell that it was from Ava's group.

"I don't know if you noticed, but you've always been a crybaby you know," Cole said. The statement had been so random and unexpected that Alex was initially stunned to silence. It took seconds before she recovered.

"Am not," she retorted with a frown.

"Are too. The stupidest things drive you to tears. It's crazy."

She considered this. When she thought about it, she did cry on a regular basis. In her defense, the entire planet _was _full of misery and there was always something to cry about everywhere they went.

'Fair enough,' she thought with a shrug.

Cole continued, "I'm gonna sound like a complete asshole for saying this but I think I liked it better when you cried."

"You asshole," she quipped.

"Not because I like seeing you miserable or anything like that. Just thought you were easier to deal with when you're being that way. You cry a river. Someone says something. You stop crying and we can all pretend that your problems are solved. That you're okay. When you're being like this, I have no idea what to do."

Alex had to smile at that. She had always known that beneath the attitude and tough-as-nails exterior, Cole had a big heart. He cared about people more than he let on. She crossed the small room in two long strides and hugged him.

"I'm here for you, squirt. Alright?" he said, hugging her back.

"I know. Don't worry about me for now." After a long pause, she added, "Though, if you really want to help, you can steal some moonshine and stash it in here for later."

Cole chuckled at this. "I like the sound of that." He had a feeling that they would probably have to bathe themselves in moonshine to forget the nightmare that happened last night...as well as the possible nightmare that was coming.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Time check. 5:32 AM. Damn. This is another chapter that I had to cut in two. Next chapter will be titled "FOUND YOU". If you've managed to read all the way to this chapter (starting with The Variable) then y'all know what this means. (Hint: Minho). The chapter is more or less halfway done. I wanted to finish it after I post this but...meh. I'm sleepy. Plus, I'll being doing night shifts starting tomorrow so I'm not promising a speedy update.

For the Reviewers, Followers, and Favorite-rs (is there such a word? No? 'kay.) Thank you, thank you for your support and for reading this story. Hope you continue to enjoy it. Please don't hesitate to leave a review. Like what I always say I don't get tired of hearing from you guys. If you're not comfortable with reviews, then you can always PM me. No problemo. Later alligator. Love you.


	42. Found You

Their trek to the place where they had kept Minho was as gloomy as Alex and Thomas' trek earlier that morning. Cole stayed at the back with the two medics whom Ava sent with them. His rifle was loaded and ready to fire in case of any surprise attacks. His sharp blue eyes scanned the perimeter. Every once in a while, his gaze would fall on Sonya who was right in front of him. Her eyes were already red and puffy before they even headed out for the mission. Plus, she hiccuped constantly. Her narrow shoulders shook so badly with each hiccup that Cole couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Halfway through the hike she broke down. Harriet put an arm around her in an attempt to calm her down.

"Keep walking," the former leader of Group B urged. "We can't stop now." From the way her voice shook, Cole could tell she was crying too.

Thomas and Alex, who were on the front, looked back to the sound of Sonya's whimpers.

"Jesus," Thomas whispered, throwing the girl beside him an uneasy look.

"Don't worry," she said, "I did my waterworks earlier."

"Good," he replied. "Because I don't think I'll be any good at calming you down."

There was a long pause where neither of them said a word. Both were too anxious to talk. They couldn't wait to get to their wounded comrade. At the same time, they dreaded the minute when they had to confront him. Everyone knew what would have to come after that.

Alex broke the spell. "You have to admit, this is evil."

"What do you mean?"

The slight girl shook her head in frustration. "I _died _for that boy to make sure he survived the shucking Maze. Hell, I even got you mixed up with this...this obsession of keeping safe. All that work and at the end of the day we still have to put him down. What the hell is that, Thomas? What did we do to deserve this? What did _he _do to deserve this?"

Thomas turned his gaze to the orange sky above them. The sun was only starting to rise but for him, it felt like they had been fighting in the dark for days.

"I keep asking myself the same thing. But maybe the thing we fear the most doesn't have to happen. Maybe he'll survive the shot the same way he survived that lightning strike, smiling like the smug bastard that he is."

"Please." She rolled her eyes.

Something about the way she said the word "please" triggered a particular memory in him. "Listen. Did Minho ever tell you about that time we had to spend a night in the Maze?"

"No one survives a night in the Maze," Alex replied, confused.

"Allegedly. But we did, him, me and Alby. Alby got stung during the day so Minho had to drag him all the way back. By the time he reached the last turn, the walls were starting to close. It was too late."

Green eyes narrowed at him. "But you went after them, didn't you? That's why you got trapped too."

"I still think about what made me do it. I know it was brave but it was also pretty stupid, even for me. I remember just knowing, while watching the shuckface struggle with Alby, that both of them will be trapped outside. Minho won't leave him. I had accepted that. But at the back of my mind, something wouldn't stop bothering me. I couldn't shake it off. It was like this gut feeling reminding me that I couldn't let Minho die. Not like that." Thomas turned to her and gave her an all-too-familiar sad smile. "It was you, Alex. You made me promise to keep him safe. And I intend to keep that promise until now." He nodded at the pocket of her cargo pants where he saw her put the syringes of antidote earlier. Alex took out one of the slender glass containers and handed it to him. He took it wordlessly and kept it in his breast pocket.

"We're bringing him back. Trust me."

Alex sighed and stared up at the sky. "I'm terrfied, Thomas," she admitted. "I don't want to lose him. I can't even..."

"Hey." He nudged her with his shoulder. "We're bringing him back."

She nodded, blinking away the tears that threatened to spill out of her burning eyes. She couldn't cry yet.

'He better come back. He promised.'

* * *

By the time they reached the incline towards the guard camp by the Patch, Alex thought she was on the brink of passing out. Her heart hammered painfully against her ribs. Her mouth had gone bone dry and it made her gag. Cold sweat covered her forehead. She gripped at the handle of her rifle even though she knew she wouldn't hit crap if she had to use it.

The top of the trees where they tied him slowly came into view. Immediately, she could tell something was off.

"Where are the wire ropes?" she asked. They reached the top of the incline and were greeted by two figures lying on the ground. Both had black uniforms on. Thomas and Alex exchanged horrified looks before sprinting towards the fallen men. The dark-haired boy stopped at the nearest man while she knelt down next to the unconscious guard a few yards away. On instinct, she placed two fingers on the side of his neck, sighing with relief when she felt his pulse bounding against them.

The man did not have his helmet on. An ugly bruise was forming at the side of his head. She couldn't figure out what caused it. 'What the hell happened?'

"Alex! This one's awake!" Thomas called out. She left the second man to the medics and ran over to Thomas' side. Sonya and Harriet had also knelt down next to him while Cole stood behind them as lookout.

"Buddy," Thomas said, helping the shaken man sit up. "What happened? Where's Minho?"

"I dunno," he groaned. He reached up and clutched at his head in pain.

"What do you mean you don't know? Where is he?!" Sonya shrieked. She scanned the woods ahead of them, looking for any sign of the missing boy. "Shit."

"He turned blue on us man," the guard explained. "Gerald thought he had stopped breathing so we took him off the ropes and put him on the ground. I was about to call for the medics when he came back."

"Came back?" Alex asked incredulously.

"He took this massive breath and puked all over the place." With a shaky hand, he motioned at the sticky puddle by his feet. "Then he...he _threw _Gerald over there. The last thing I remember seeing was his shoe heading straight at my face."

Alex looked at the man named Gerald who now sat up and was being assisted by the medics. He looked at least six-foot-three tall and looked so bulky that he could have easily weighed over two-hundred pounds. "How...?"

"I'm telling you. That kid is doped up. He was way stronger than he looked."

Alex's heart sank upon hearing this. Minho's worst fears had come true. He had turned into an animal.

"Are you okay though?" Thomas asked. The guard nodded and scratched the back of his head. "I'll be alright. Nothing bruised but my ego."

Thomas motioned for all of them to huddle in one corner. Once they had formed a tight circle, he started. "Alright. We need to look for him. Not only is he a danger to himself he is now also a danger to everybody. From what I could get out of that guy, it looks like the shank is starting to crash. I suggest we split up to cover more ground. If any one of you find him, let me or Alex know immediately. He needs the Grief Serum now."

Alex noticed the way his voice trembled. She couldn't take her eyes off the way he continuously wrung his hands together. Neither did anything to calm her frayed nerves.

'This is bad,' she thought. Too much time had passed. She couldn't decide which was worse: seeing him dead or seeing him raging like a rabid madman.

The group split up just as Thomas had suggested. Cole had to stay behind to provide cover for the medics. The four of them were to head into the woods in pairs. In his haste, Thomas pulled Harriet with him before any of them could protest. Sonya and Alex glared at each other.

"Whatever. Let's find him," the latter said. She made her way through a thick bush before Sonya could reply. Between the two of them, the search for Minho was filled with tense silence. Neither said a word as they turned the place over in search of any shape or form that resembled the deranged Runner. The smallest sounds like a twig snapping or wings fluttering put them on edge. Alex felt like throwing up for the umpteenth time that day. Sonya couldn't take it anymore.

"Look, I know we're not exactly in good terms with each other but I'm willing to put that aside for the moment if it means we can save him," she blurted out so rapidly that Alex didn't understand half of it. The shorter girl gave her a sideway glance.

"Okay, sure. We're doing it now, aren't we?" They both turned into a sharp turn where something or someone had left a trail of broken branches and stomped weeds.

"Had to make that clear," Sonya replied, cocking her rifle at the ready.

Alex nodded at the gun. "Are you sure about the putting aside our differences part?" She couldn't afford worrying about getting a bullet in her back, not when she was on the verge of losing it from worrying about Minho. It was only then when she realized that she had left her own gun at camp. She took it off when they checked out the guards.

Before the blonde could answer, scratching sounds from a few yards away caught their attention. They could see one of the shorter trees from a distance shaking violently.

"Minho!" Sonya called out. "Baby, is that you?" She plowed forward to examine the source of the racket. Alex followed closely.

"Sonya, I don't think-"

"Let go of me!" Sonya shrugged Alex's hand away when the latter tried to stop her.

"Sonya!" she hissed, stopping in her tracks. "It's not him!"

The taller girl ignored her, aiming her rifle forward. A waist-high bush blocked the view of the tree's base. "Minho?" she called out softly. The movement stopped. Everything became still and they were plunged in deafening silence. Taking a deep breath, Sonya began to sprint through the bush.

Alex watched silently from a distance. Though she was sure it wasn't him, she was afraid of what it could be. Jorge had mentioned to her once that he found a wolf within the area a few months back. With the string of bad luck that they'd been having, a wolf encounter could very well be the cherry-on-top of their unbelievably ill fortune.

When Sonya turned around to look at her, her hazel eyes grew wide and round. She had frozen on the spot. Even from where she stood, Alex could see her chin trembling.

"What's wrong?" she called out, unaware that a few feet behind her stood a tall figure whose pasty arms were riddled with dark blue veins. His wrists were raw from the restraints that held him earlier. His eyes held the look of a murderer. It took Sonya a few more seconds to find her voice.

"Alex, run!"

She didn't have to be told twice. Alex turned left just as Minho threw himself forward. His left hand shot out, grabbing on to the hem of her shirt.

"Minho, no!" she cried. Instinct took over. Without even meaning to, her right fist flew up and connected with this jaw. The blow made him loosen his grip on her. Alex took the opportunity to run as fast as she could.

From a distance, Sonya watched in horror as Minho scrambled back to his feet and sprinted after Alex with the speed of a seasoned Runner. She aimed her rifle at him, ready the take a shot. The cross hairs of her scope were at the center of his back. Her finger trembled against the trigger.

"Shit," she whispered, putting the gun down. She couldn't do it. With her heart heavy from the guilt of not being able to help, she ran down the path that the two had disappeared into.

* * *

Alex could hear him breathing. The pounding of his boots was right behind her. They had been on a dead sprint for minutes now and it was starting to take its toll on her. She was running out of breath. Her lungs burnt whenever she inhaled. Her face was raw and bleeding from the rough branches that slapped against her as they bulldozed their way down the forest. Minho, on the other hand, showed no signs of slowing down. If anything, she could swear he was picking up speed. Fear gripped at her throat like an ice-cold hand. It was the same kind of fear that she experienced while running away from Cranks and hiding from the blistering heat of the Scorch. It was never the kind of fear that she associated with the almond-eyed boy until now. The fact that she was running away from him for dear life made her feel like she was trapped in a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She no longer thought about what she would do _if _he caught her. She thought about what would happen _when _he caught her.

In her haste, she failed to duck away from a stray branch. It snagged her on the eyelid, blinding her temporarily. That same moment, she felt him slam against her back, knocking her breath clean out of her. The impact threw both of them off balance. Alex didn't see the steep drop in front of her until her feet had left the ground and she was already tumbling down on it. By the time she reached the bottom, she had spat out every profanity in her vocabulary. Every inch of her body was in pain. Her clothes were torn in many places and her nose bled. A mottled heap fell beside her with a loud thud. She back-paddled out of the way when she realized who it was.

She watched warily as he rolled on his side and began vomiting. The black muck that came out of him smelled like old blood, as though he was starting to rot on the inside.

"Minho?" she gasped.

The Runner didn't reply. Instead, he lied on his back and groaned in agony. Something was wrong. Alex could tell by his rapid and shallow breathing. His lips had turned a sickly blue and every cough made the dark veins in his neck protrude. Minho was a mess.

Using every drop of energy she had left, she pushed herself up to her knees. Her hand wrapped around one of the glass syringes in her pocket. Not wasting any time, she pulled it up and plunged it towards his belly. The short needle was millimeters away from the fabric of his shirt when a large, clammy hand wrapped around her right wrist. The syringe lost its momentum.

"What the-" In the blink of an eye, the antidote was knocked out of her hand and Alex came slamming back to the ground. She screamed as the hand pressed her right arm down, its nails digging into her skin.

Minho rolled on top of her. His weight pinned her to the ground.

"Get off of me!" she shrieked. Her left hand swung blindly, never once hitting its target. Panic flooded her mind. That, coupled with Minho pressing on her, made breathing difficult. "Get off!" she pleaded.

Another clammy hand wrapped around her left wrist before forcefully pinning it above her head. By then she stopped fighting. There was no way out anymore. Pushing down the sheer terror that was drowning her, she took a deep breath and looked at Minho in his rage-filled eyes.

"Are you gonna kill me? Is that what you want to do? Go ahead. Do it. Been there done that. You don't scare me." She was surprised at the steady tone of her voice, especially since the rest of her quivered like a leaf.

And then he smiled, a genuine one which turned his eyes into upturned slits and deepened the boyish dimples on his cheeks. Alex didn't know whether to feel relieved or more scared. "What?" she squeaked.

"You're a terrible liar," he said.

She didn't say anything in reply. Instead she watched him watch her. She could feel him scrutinizing every inch of her face as though he was trying to memorize it down to its last detail. He wore the same pensive look she had seen many times during those countless memory tests that she had administered to him. The intensity of his gaze unnerved her.

"Minho-"

"I hate you." It came out as a low whisper. She would've missed it had he not been inches away from her.

"What are you-"

"I HATE YOU!" He lifted her hands and slammed them back to the ground. This time she was too stunned to feel the pain. Something flashed in Minho's dark orbs. It mixed with the anger and insanity which already brewed in them like a storm. That something was hurt. And he shook with it. With the poison coursing in his veins, his nonchalant facade had crumbled down and it was finally out in the open to see.

He continued in a calmer tone. "You promised we'd get out of WICKED together. You promised that we would rebuild our lives together. You promised...you and me together right?"

The green-eyed girl fought back the tears that threatened to spill out of her. "Yeah," she whispered.

"So why did you do it, huh? You left me in that hellhole to rot-"

"-I didn't have a choice-!"

"-No, _I _didn't have a choice!" He pushed himself off of her and sat on his ankles. He was breathing heavily again. He looked down on his hands, which shook against his lap. "You knew what would happen when you went inside the Maze. You made up your mind before they even gave you the Swipe. Alex, how _dare _you."

Alex sat up. This time she couldn't help it. She cried.

"Min, they were gonna kill you," she sobbed. "After everything you've endured to survive they were going to give you to the Grievers like you were a piece of meat and I couldn't have that."

When Minho lifted his head to face her, she realized that he was crying too.

"So you killed me instead."

Alex was floored. She had never looked at it that way. She thought that what she had done, her volunteering to introduce the variable to him, had been for the best. What mattered to her was that he survived. No matter what.

"You have no idea what state you left me in after that Griever attack. You know, it was a good thing I was a Runner. Because I couldn't _stand _being in the shucking Glade for a whole day, not when everything in it reminded me of you."

She had never seen him so lucid since he got stung. It was also the first time she saw him so vulnerable and open. Minho was never one to talk about his feelings. He always treated them like they were contraband and kept them under so many layers of sass and sarcasm that it became easier to pretend that nothing fazed him or that those feelings didn't exist to begin with.

But she didn't have a choice. Neither did he. Alex knew both of these were true. Despite what they both wanted to believe, they had been controlled by forces that were bigger than themselves. They were test subjects. Their tragedy was nothing more than one of WICKED's means to an end.

Alex shuffled forward until their knees touched. Then, slowly so as not to startle him, she reached out and caressed the nape of his neck, smoothing the tuft of short hair that was there. Minho sighed and leaned against her hand, savoring the feeling. Like he had done so many times a lifetime ago, he took her other hand and planted gentle kisses on each fingertip. For one moment, he was sixteen again. For a moment, he was back in the Maze yet he couldn't care less. Because for that moment, he had her, all of her and that was all he really needed.

"You know I can't hate you right?" he whispered. "Even if I wanted to."

"Shh. Seriously, you talk too much."

The dark-haired boy gently cupped her face and leaned forward until his forehead touched hers.

'Why just now?' Alex thought bitterly. It was cruel, how everything had the nerve to feel so perfect just when she knew her entire world was about to fall apart. Minho was oblivious to her thoughts and lazily ran his fingers through a lock of her hair.

"God, you're beautiful."

Alex shifted so she could plant a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm sorry I left you hanging like that," she said. "I never wanted to but um...things happened. And there was no other way around it. I had to leave. Not forever though." She brushed her thumb under each of his eyes, wiping away his tears. "Min, you should know by now. Where you go, I go. Where you stay, I stay. I guess I can't help it."

The look on his face was priceless. Alex vowed never to forget it.

"I can't believe you remembered that."

"I do. And I know it took me ages. Must've taken a few wrong turns here and there. But here I am. Here we are. I told you I was going to find you, didn't I?" Green locked with brown. She forced herself to smile at him. "Found you."

"I guess you did." He smiled back at her and Alex remembered one more reason why she fell in love with him. That sweet smile, however, was short-lived. It slowly faded away as Minho felt a burning sensation spread on his chest. He looked down and saw that Alex had taken another syringe out. She had injected all of its contents into his thigh. He grunted as the fire in his chest spread down his stomach and up his throat. Every beat of his heart sent a jolt of pain in his body. It mixed with the dull throb of all the injuries he didn't know he sustained during his rampage. Not long after, his vision grew dim and his body slumped forward. Alex caught him and held him as the Grief Serum reversed the effects of both the venom and the neurotransmitter.

"I got you," she murmured shakily. "I'm not leaving you. Promise. I got you."

His body craved oxygen. He wanted to breathe but he couldn't. It felt as though his lungs had forgotten how to take in air. He clutched the back of Alex's shirt as he began to drown inside his failing body.

"Minho, stay with me." He heard Alex say. He wanted to but he didn't know how. He could feel himself slipping away. Slowly but surely, all the pain he felt started to vanish. The last thing he remembered was calling out Alex's name and then everything went black.

* * *

"Alex," he repeated over and over again. Her name was the last word that left his mouth before she noticed his grip on her going slack. His body got heavier so she eased him down the ground. What she saw next was the stuff that her nightmares were made of. His last breaths came in deep, long gasps. Their intervals got longer until Alex found herself pausing for a long time, waiting for the next gasp to come. Minho didn't breathe again. His eyes fluttered close. The metal on the right side of his chest grew still.

"No," she shook her head. She quickly felt the sides of his neck for a pulse. He was too still. "Minho," she called out, moving her fingers from his neck down to the crooks of his elbows. "Minho!"

Fighting the thunderstorm on her chest, she put her head down and pressed her ear over the spot where his heart was. She was desperate to hear a beat, to feel him breathe, anything to reassure her that he was still there. She found nothing. Her worst fear was unfolding right in front of her. And she refused to accept it.

Years of training by WICKED kicked in. She tilted head back before pinching his nose and breathing into his mouth. Then she started pressing his chest on a steady rhythm.

"Come back to me," she whispered. She allowed the tingling numbness to devour her. Her mind focused itself on counting the number of presses she had to make before prompting her to give him breaths again, anything to distract her from the fact that Minho was lying lifeless in front of her. Alex couldn't remember how long she had been doing it. Her arms screamed in pain but she felt like she could go for days if she had to.

Thomas found them first. He skidded down on her left, mouth agape in shock. "What happened?" he asked in a broken voice. Alex didn't hear him. She breathed into Minho's mouth and repeated the cycle all over again. She thought she heard Thomas cry but she didn't care.

Behind them, Sonya and Harriet came to a halt. The first thing that the blonde noticed was that the veins which riddled the Runner's body earlier was gone. But he still looked unusually pale. His head lolled to the side and right then, Sonya knew that she was looking at a corpse. She turned around and hurled non-stop.

"Wake up Minho," Thomas cried, shaking his leg. "Wake up dammit!" He looked helplessly at the girl on his right who was pressing on his friend's chest mechanically, devoid of any emotion. "Alex, he's...he's..."

The minutes dragged slowly. As time went by, Alex's movements grew slower, her compressions got weaker. She was gasping for breath but she didn't dare stop. One of the medics, a tall, slender man, knelt in front of the exhausted girl. He gently pushed her back and took over with pressing on Minho's chest.

"Keep giving him breaths when I say, alright?" The numb girl nodded dumbly.

They continued for a couple of minutes more. By then, Thomas' cries became silent whimpers. Harriet was on the ground with Sonya, holding the shattered girl in her arms. Cole, who arrived at the scene last, watched the rescue attempt in silent shock. Minho was not the first person to die in his presence. During his stint in Denver he had seen countless deaths which came in many ways and forms. And he was used to the image of it. What he didn't expect was for death to claim the dark-haired Runner this soon, especially since he was quite frankly the most resilient and energetic person he had met. He often thought that the arrogant boy was invincible. He had a way of ducking out of death's clutches and defying the odds. This time, it looked like his luck had ran out.

'It's been too long,' he thought. He looked at Alex's shaking back and felt his stomach drop. "C'mon Minho, wake up," he mumbled.

Alex was about to give him another breath when the medic stopped her. She slapped his hand away but he stopped her again.

"What is the matter with you?" she scolded.

"Stop," he replied quietly. "We've done everything we could for him. He's gone."

She stared back at the black-clad man, waiting for his words to sink in.

Gone. Gone. _Dead._

"No way," she shook her head vigorously. "No way." She roughly took his cold face with both hands, turning it this way and that. She felt for a pulse. She tapped him on the cheek.

"Don't do this," she whispered. Then she shook him hard by the shoulders. "Wake up Min! Come on! Stop this bullshit and wake up! I said wake up!" She brought a fist down his chest. "Goddamit! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

She was shrieking by the time Thomas pulled her away. "Alex, listen!" He squeezed her upper arms until her wild eyes found his. "He's gone. You need to stop." He couldn't continue talking. The tears fell down his face in droves. Even then Alex refused to believe it. She couldn't.

"He can't die, Thomas," she said. "Please, don't say that." She turned at the medic expectantly who gave them a solemn look.

"I'm sorry. Let me call the guards to collect the body." He got up and walked over to where Cole stood, mumbling codes in his communication device.

'Collect the body,' she repeated in her mind.

Alex felt like she was made of rubber. If it wasn't for Thomas who held her from behind, she might have toppled over. She didn't care, couldn't care. She couldn't even feel enough to cry.

Her eyes trained on Minho who was lying on his back. He looked like he was sleeping except he was still. Too still.

And then he stirred.

The first thing he did was take a deep breath, like someone who was in the middle of a dream. Alex thought she was imagining it until she felt Thomas stiffen behind her.

"Did he just..." They exchanged surprised looks.

He coughed violently. The color in his face slowly came back as he gasped for breath in between every coughing fit. Alex was next to him in an instant. She pulled him to his side and rubbed his back as he continued to catch his breath.

"Yo! He's alive man!" Cole called out to the medic. He ran and sat next to Thomas. He had to see it up close.

"Sonuvabitch," the older man mumbled as he looked at the not-so-dead boy. "This is unbelievable. He was dead for more than fifteen minutes." He checked Minho's pulse points. Each spot produced strong, bounding pulses, like they never stopped.

Alex smiled at him. "Nah, it's just Minho." She looked down on him and continued rubbing his back until his coughing subsided.

"I'm here," she said to him. "I got you."

Minho's hand found its way to her lap and she put her other hand on top of it to calm him down. He grabbed it and gave it a firm squeeze. The gesture snapped something in her and she began to laugh manically. She was aware of how insane she sounded but she couldn't stop until she let all that laughter out.

"Alex?" Thomas chuckled nervously. "Are you okay?"

The green-eyed girl nodded as her laughter subsided to quiet chuckles. The quiet chuckles turned to sniffles. The sniffles transformed into a sob. Soon, she was bawling. All those tears she had stopped earlier came back with a vengeance and blinded her. Despite that, she never took her hand off of Minho's grip, nor did she stop her post-mortem back rub.

"I hate you Minho. You scared the living shit out of me, I hate you." She didn't mean it, of course. "And thanks for coming back."

Minho was lulled back to sleep. For the second time that day, he became dead to the world, dead asleep but still very much alive, much to everyone's delight.

* * *

"I still can't believe it."

"You said it yourself. The shank's part cockroach. He doesn't die easily."

"I'm glad you didn't give up on him."

"I've made that mistake once. I'm not doing it again."

Alex and Thomas stood side by side, watching as a group of medics worked on Minho. The boy had not woken up since coming back from the dead. He would stir and mumble incoherently every once in a while. The rest of the time he slept like a log. Alex watched his chest like a hawk. She made sure that if its rhythmic rise and fall came to a stop, she would be the first to know. It never did though.

When the first medic on the scene with them was convinced that Minho was completely revived, he had phoned an entire medical group to come and pick "the boy who refused to die". Within minutes, they arrived riding a Berg. They flocked at the sleeping boy all at once and began working on him. One stuck a large bore needle up his arm while another placed a clear mask over his nose and mouth. One medic was flashing a penlight on his eyes. The last one pressed a scope on his bruised chest, listening to God-knows-what. Every now and then he would recite a sentence made up of medical terms that none of them understood.

Cole came over to them. He slapped Thomas on the back and gave Alex a hug.

"We're going up the Berg with them. They're calling us to hop in."

Alex nodded at him. "Sure. Sounds more fun than walking." After that ten-thousand-meter dash with the half-crazy Minho, she was more than happy to sit on her butt for the rest of the day.

Cole smiled and winked at her. "You were badass back there. Nice." He walked back towards where Sonya and Harriet waited for him.

"Shall we go?" she asked, turning to Thomas who looked at her strangely. "Hey."

The dark-haired boy broke down. It was the first time she saw him do so spontaneously. Before she could react, he reached out and crushed her in a bearhug.

"Thank you," he sobbed on her back. "Thank you."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_I guess Alex's words from The Variable prophesized Minho's fate. He lives. =)

One of the inspirations of this chapter was a short scene in TMR movie, where Newt points out to Thomas the different people in the Glade. The part where Minho was filmed eating slowly, by himself, looking like a miserable but badass dude. I remember thinking, 'Yo. Alex was already gone by that time isn't she? Must be why.'

Also, what I personally like about this bit is that Minho's side regarding Alex's decision to sacrifice herself is revealed. We mostly saw the story through her POV so we understand why she did it. But what of Minho? It's what I always wanted to find out here in Method and I can't believe it took 42 chapters to get the stubborn shank to own up to his true feelings. Remember, he was half-crazy so his emotions had no filter in them. He understood no reason. Whether or not you agree with Min's side is up to you.

Anyhoo, thanks for reading! Comments, violent reactions and concrits are always welcomed. See ya.


	43. Where She Stays

Minho woke up to the sound of murmurs. The longer he lied still with his eyes closed, the louder and clearer they became.

"Look what the cat dragged in," said one voice. It sounded awfully familiar. 'Jeff?' he thought to himself.

"Still ugly as shuck. Good to know he hasn't changed," replied another. It sounded like Anton.

'What the hell is going on?'

He forced his eyes open and blinked a few times, waiting for his surroundings to slowly come into focus. He was in a white room which, strangely enough, smelled like one of those breakfast meals Frypan used to make back in the Glade. A boy peered down at him. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a toothy grin that Minho hadn't seen in years.

"Day one, Greenie," Ben said in a serious tone. "Get that skinny ass up and move!"

Roars of laughter came from behind him as the former Builder helped Minho up to his feet. The latter could only stare at Ben in shock. He didn't look anything like the insane boy whom they had been forced to banish. His baby face was flawless. His laugh was contagious, just like how he remembered it before when they would make fun of the Greenies who came after them.

"Ben?" he gasped.

"One and only, shank," he nodded. His gaze landed at something behind Minho and the Runner turned around to see what it was.

Or rather, _who._

Jeff and Anton whispered among themselves. Every once in a while, Anton's eyes would flick at his direction and the two would chuckle. Minho would have been offended if hadn't been in shock. He didn't want to think about the reason why he was seeing these guys in the first place.

Jeff nudged the curly-haired boy at the side and turned to him. "We were just talking about how we were right about our speculations back in the Glade."

"You and Alex are a thing," Anton added, "Or were. We're not too sure. What's the real deal between the two of you lately?"

"Seriously," Minho scoffed. "Up until now you still can't mind your own business."

"Well you can't blame them. It's not like we have anything better to do." The tenor voice with the British accent sent a jolt of electricity down his spine. He spun around so quickly that Minho felt his back crunch. Behind Ben, leaning lazily on one of the white walls was none other than Newt. His arms were crossed over his chest and his brown eyes stared mirthfully at him.

"You alright shank?" he greeted.

"You shucking sonuvabitch," Minho spat, crossing the distance between them in four long strides. Newt pushed himself off the wall just as the Runner grabbed him into a rough, brotherly hug.

"Long time no see," Newt chirped.

"Tell me about it," Minho replied flatly. He patted the blonde on the cheek a couple of times. Newt felt warm to his touch. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought that the boy in front of him was alive.

'If only.'

"It's always good to bump into a friendly bloke but I'm not sure it would be appropriate to say I'm glad to see you."

Minho's smile faded at this. He turned around and realized that more boys had appeared in the room with him. There was Zart, Frankie, Nick and George. Alby stood on the far left, chuckling to the short, curly-haired boy beside him who kept waving excitedly at Minho. It was Chuck.

He turned to Newt. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

The blonde nodded solemnly at him. "Your heart stopped. Alex is trying to restart it as we speak."

"Or shall I say, _Alexandria_," Alby called making everyone snicker.

"That tiny wanker is a girl?" Newt queried. "I can't believe you never told me. That whole time you kept it to yourself."

Minho bit his lip. Despite it happening years ago, he still felt like a kid who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar whenever someone called him out about the Alex business.

"Yeah, about that-"

"It wasn't your secret to tell," Newt cut in, laughing. "We know shank. Just teasin' ya. And we haven't even really started yet."

'Started?' Minho thought in horror. "Listen. I miss you all. Really, I do. But I can't stay here." He turned to the group of dead Gladers looking at him and Newt. "I have to go back."

Their reply was a deafening silence.

After a long and awkward pause, Zart piped up, "Welp...that was quick."

"Usually they hang around a bit longer," Nick added. "Or in Winston's case, they decide to stay."

"Half of my head was gone. I had nothing to live for."

More laughter followed after that. Minho found it disturbing how lightly they talked about their deaths. It was as though they had made their peace and moved on. Didn't they know that the living still grieved for them until now?

Ben walked over towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure about this shank? It's gonna hurt when you do. And the world is still gonna be a shucked up place when you get back."

"It will be nice having you here," another boy said.

Minho thought about it. He looked at his wrists and arms. Not one single scratch was there. Even his old scars were gone. He looked down at his chest and saw that the ugly contraption stuck on it earlier had vanished. Physically, he hadn't felt better than he did that moment since before the Trials began. Still, he thought of Frypan and Thomas and everyone he had left behind. He thought of the Navigation Team and Sonya. Most of all, he thought of Alex. She had kept her promise and found him. Despite all the odds they had faced, there they were. Minho made up his mind.

"Maybe some other time," he told them with a sad smile. "But not anytime soon. I mean, Thomas is gonna go bat crazy. Think about it. And who's gonna keep an eye on that klutz Alex?"

"Actually you idiot," Newt replied, "Thomas is a world class genius who happens to be humanity's best hope of survival. And you severely underestimate that girl. A word of advice, don't let her go anywhere near a knife when you've pissed her off."

There was a collective murmur of agreement.

"Be honest. That's not the _only _reason you're raring to go back isn't it? Go on. Spill it out. Geez, we all know, yeah?" Newt teased.

"Then why the shuck are you still asking?" Minho snapped, glaring daggers at the blonde who merely chuckled. "Fine," he sighed. "Where she stays, I stay. Alright? I'm not going to be that slinthead who fucks up over the same shuck twice. Now, how do I get out of here?"

Newt nodded at him. "Fair enough. Exit's that way." He pointed at a spot behind him. Minho turned around and saw a door on the far right which wasn't there before. The word 'EXIT' flashed above it in bold red letters. He shook his head in disbelief. "You shanks leave nothing to the imagination, don't you?"

After giving Newt one final hug and waving goodbye to the rest of the group, he made his way out. His hand was already on the doorknob when the blonde called out to him one last time.

"Hey shank?"

"Yeah." He turned to Newt who seemed to be debating whether or not to continue talking.

"Tell Thomas I'm sorry."

"I will."

And with that, Minho stepped out of the room. The door closed behind him with a soft click. Ben walked over to where Newt stood with his hands on his waist.

"I thought you were gonna tell him about Brenda being pregnant."

"Now why would I do that?" Newt deadpanned. With everything that was happening there in Paradise, it would drive poor Thomas to insanity if Minho were to sit up after coming back from the dead and blurt out the news about "Little Chuck". Besides, he was so over it. He had seen him coming for nearly a year now, what with all that romping Thomas and Brenda did.

What he couldn't wait to happen though was future little Minho. He was the reason why Newt knew beforehand that the Runner wouldn't choose to stay. That fellow was a pleasant surprise whom he stumbled upon while he went out exploring once. He never told anyone about his existence, partly because he did not technically exist yet. He was neither alive nor dead. He was just there.

Curiously enough, while the tot was a nearly perfect clone of his good friend, it only took him one look to figure out who the mother was.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I wanted a break from all that heavy drama. Believe it or not those are exhausting to write (and yet I find myself writing them a lot). The afterlife stint was a spur of the moment plot bunny that I had to write down, mainly because the old Gladers are there. I thought it was cheesy at first but hey, it was fun to write. I miss those guys.

And FLM (aka Future Little Minho)...I sort of knew that he will happen since reading The Death Cure, the part where Thomas nearly castrated Minho and mentioned to him in passing about the possibility of Future Little Minhos. Back then I myself didn't know who he's having the squirt with. It never felt like a big deal as long as he gets made and born. =)

Hope you enjoy this bit as much as I did. Will be disappearing again for an indefinite period of time. Girl's gotta make money...and get out...and chill. =)


	44. Rude Awakening

Alex knew it was a dream the second she saw Minho. She was sitting on a fallen tree in the middle of a brightly-lit forest when he appeared in front of her. This mini-version of the Runner didn't even look tall enough to reach her waist. Baby fat made his already round face look fuller. From where she sat, she could see that one of his lower teeth were missing.

"Who are you?" little Minho asked, frowning. Despite his size, he still held the same dominant aura that she was all-too familiar with. She decided to have a go at him.

"Your momma," she replied, trying to keep her face as straight as possible, a lame attempt at being funny. When it became clear that this Minho didn't know who she was, she sighed. "Alex."

"That's a boy's name."

Green eyes narrowed at him. "Short for Alexandria, smarty pants." She extended her arm out. He walked over and shook her hand firmly.

"There ya go. Nice to meet you, Minho. What's so funny?" The boy chuckled at the mention of his name.

"Minho?" he asked incredulously. Alex had no idea how to respond to that. Little Minho shrugged and sat on the tree beside her. She found it cute the way he swung his legs together, which were inches away from touching the ground.

"You're pretty, Alex," he complimented, "even though you have a boy's name."

"You know Min, you're the only guy I know who tells me that. Thanks."

"You're welcome." After a long pause, he added. "They're prolly thinking it but don't want to say it out loud."

"Aw shucks! Come here you cute thing," she squealed, scooting nearer to the little boy. She put an arm around him and kissed the crown of his head. "Hmm! I don't remember you smelling this good." He smelled like milk. She kissed him a couple more times until he pushed her away, pouting.

"Show me those dimples, little one. Oh my God I wanna eat you," she cooed.

'Are you cooing at him?' she thought to herself. She never _cooed_ at anyone, much less at the slinthead.

'Whatever. This is my dream. I can do what I want.'

"Come on now. Cheer up and smile," she urged.

"I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"I'm upset."

"Why?"

"My friend is leaving me."

Alex was surprised. Even _this _version of Minho had issues from being left behind. "Uh-oh. Do you know where he's going?"

He shook his head sadly. "I don't understand why we can't go together. Newt told me to wait but it's taking too long." He tsked impatiently. Alex, however, perked up for a different reason. "Wait, did you say Newt?"

"Young man, come here and stop bothering the poor lady." Newt appeared a few feet in front of them, motioning for the shankling to come to him. The blonde boy looked exactly as Alex remembered him, a tall teenager with long limbs and wise eyes. He ruffled little Minho's hair as the younger boy clutched at his leg.

"Do you know her?" the younger boy asked.

Newt went down on his knees to face him. "As a matter of fact I do. Do _you_ know her?"

"Her name is Alex and she wants to eat me." Then, Little Minho added in a lower voice. "She thinks I'm cute."

Alex had to laugh at that. She laughed harder when she saw the smug look on the boy's face. Newt was smiling widely as he played along.

"I bet she does," he replied while throwing the laughing girl a playful wink. Then he cupped his hand beside the boy's ear and whispered, "Besides, your dad's her type so..."

Almond eyes grew round at the revelation. He quickly pulled Newt's ear and whispered excitedly, "Newt! She knows my daddy?"

'Well duh,' he thought. He didn't say anything and just pinched the boy's nose. Alex, who was watching the whispered exchange from a distance, spoke up.

"Dude! What am I missing?" she asked, feeling a bit left out. Little Minho and Newt exchanged secretive looks and the latter pressed his index finger over his lips, signalling to the former to keep quiet.

"And what's he talking about this friend who's leaving him? Come on shank, speak up."

"Can't tell you. Classified Runner stuff I'm afraid." Newt picked the little boy up and sat him on his shoulders. "We have to go Alex. Sorry."

"Bye-ah!" Little Minho waved at her.

Alex stood up and made a move to follow them. "Wait! Where you are taking him?" She felt an odd sensation in her guts as Newt took the boy further away from her. It was a combination of wanting to protect and hold him at the same time. She had never felt it before. "So you're just gonna leave me here?"

Newt stopped on his tracks. He turned back to look at her one last time.

"You can't stay here. You have to go back, yeah? You have to remember."

* * *

She could hear the ruffling of papers. On top of that, there was a continuous mechanical beep somewhere in the room which went in sync with the dull pounding pain all over her body. She was aware of the steady stream of cool air flowing into her nose through a pair of prongs. Alex struggled to pry her eyes open but she couldn't.

Two other women were in the room with her. She kept her ears open and tried her best to eavesdrop on them from where she lied.

"How is she?"

"Well, she's alive if that's what you want to hear. The sting missed her heart by less than an inch. It punctured a lung but that has been sorted out. No worries. Sats had been fine and she's breathing on her own. Overnight, the vitals had been more or less stable. Not exactly what we were aiming for but I guess that's her new baseline now."

"Is she on sedation?"

"We have to put her in it. She was hysterical when she woke up. Nearly ripped the clips off of her. As you probably see, those are the only things holding her chest together." In a lower voice, the woman added, "How is the boy? This one had been screaming for him non-stop before we knocked her out."

There was a long pause before the other woman replied, "He's producing high-quality killzone patterns now. He is off the termination list. That's all you need to know."

There was a loud clatter of plastic against plastic. "Ava, I feel terrible. You _know _these two. There has to be another way."

"I had to ask Victor to scavenge for a dead Crank to burn in the incinerator in exchange for her. I had to manually disable her internal monitoring device to give them the flatline that they were expecting to see. I broke a dozen rules to get her out of there with her life hanging by a thread. We can't risk another suicide mission like that, especially now that A7 is doing so well. If we take him out of the Trials, they will find out. And they will be in greater danger together. He's safer there in the Maze for the moment. Right now, we just do what we can do."

Alex forced her eyes open. This time, they fluttered for a few seconds before closing shut again. She sighed in frustration.

"She's waking up."

"Leave her for now. I want to speak to her."

She must have passed out again after that. When she woke up, the room was dimmer. Her head felt like it weighed a ton. Turning it on the side made her short of breath.

"Good afternoon, Alexandria. It's good to finally see you awake." Ava was sitting at her bedside, looking immaculate as always. Not much has changed about the woman since the first time Alex laid eyes on her many years ago.

"Where am I?" she rasped. Her mouth felt raw and dry. It hurt to swallow.

"You're in a safe place, away from Janson and his men." She reached out to smooth the short locks of hair away from her face. It felt awkward for Alex but she said nothing about it.

"And Minho?"

"He's fine."

"Can I see him?" she whispered. The image of him running after her looking horrified was seared at her mind. 'He must think I'm dead,' she thought. Green eyes watered as they looked at Ava. "I have to see him. I need to make sure he's okay."

Ava's hand stopped brushing through her hair. "And I need to make sure you're okay. Sorry, but I can't let you do that."

Alex squeezed her eyes shut as hot tears spilled out of them. Her sobs came out quiet and hoarse. It wasn't the only reason she was desperate to see him. This was the first time she had been injured badly enough that she couldn't move her own body. Everything hurt. She had never felt so helpless and it was what terrified her the most. She needed him beside her.

"All your life you've been led to believe that you're not cut out for the Trials, that you're not good enough." Ava took her by the chin and waited for her to open her eyes and look at her. "But the truth is, you are very important. Your rare DNA will be your greatest legacy. Because of that, you have to live. It's going to be impossible for you to do so while in WICKED. And I know you wouldn't want to leave with Minho still trapped in there."

Alex nodded defiantly. No way was she escaping without him. If they forced her out, she will find a way back in.

"That's why I'm going to make sure that you do. Stay far away, Alexandria. I have contacts on the outside who will help you start over. Forget about WICKED. Forget about Minho. For your own sake, allow yourself to get a clean slate."

As if on cue, two men in scrub suits wheeled in a familiar-looking device. A long metallic arm jutted out from its cube-shaped base. On its tip sat a clear, glass mould shaped like a human face. The mould had several little holes all over it which had metallic wires passing through each one of them. It was the Swipe.

The terror-stricken girl glanced at Ava. "Don't do this." She lifted her arms only to realize that they were restrained. Thick, buckled restraints also crossed over her torso, hips, thigh and feet. She couldn't move.

"I don't want it!" she screamed hoarsely. "No, no, no! Please, Ava, please! Ava...no. No! No! Help! Help me, please!" She screamed futilely as the device came closer and closer to her face. The last thing she remembered was the sharp pain in her ears as two of the metal wires punctured her eardrums.

* * *

Alex woke up gasping. Her hands clutched tightly on her sheets as she caught her breath. Wild green eyes scanned the dark room as she tried to figure out where she was.

'It's the clinic. You're in the clinic. Relax,' she talked to herself, urging herself to calm down. She groaned loudly as she sat up in bed. Her whole body was sore, especially her arms. When she reached up to touch her face, she found it filled with adhesive dressings. 'Clint didn't hold back with the plasters,' she thought wryly.

Her bed was positioned in a way that her feet directly faced the door, which was wide open. When she sat up, she could see through the other room across the hallway since its door was also open. The first person she saw was Sonya. She was sitting on a chair beside a bed. Her upper body was sprawled on it while her tired eyes focused on the person lying in it. Alex only had to see the top of his head to know who it was.

Sonya's gaze shifted and it locked on to her. The latter froze, unsure of what to do. With the grace and speed of someone who was severely exhausted, Sonya got up from the chair. She dragged her feet across the small distance between the bed and the door and closed it shut as quietly as possible.

She must have frowned at the door for minutes until she realized that she wasn't the only one in the room. The smell of cigarettes informed her of another presence. She turned around just in time to see Ava Paige take a long drag from her cancer stick. She blew the smoke out of the open window that she stood by.

"Is it just me or is this set up giving us deja vu?" the woman in white asked.

"What do you want Ava?" Alex replied defensively. Memories of her unwanted Swipe ran fresh in her mind.

"I have a lot of explaining to do." Ava flicked the finished cigarette outside before she sat at the foot of Alex's bed. "I want to start now."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_I had a phone scare. The crazy way it's acting is warning me of its impending doom. As a result, plans of going out are thwarted. And as a result of that, I decided to post another chapter. Hell week is starting in a few days (and I plan on doing extra shifts in between) so again, no idea when I'll be back. Soon, hopefully.

In case some of you are STILL a bit confused. Alex thinks Little Minho is just a younger version of Big(Hot)Minho but come on. We're readers. We know better. =) If Newt's line wasn't a dead giveaway then I don't know what is.

**Stephanie Park.** I have a Wattpad account as well. I posted a few chapters of The Variable in the site before but decided to take it down. I'll post these stories myself, if you don't mind. I want it finished first before I post a copy of them on the site. If it's not too much to ask though, you can spread the news about The Variable and Method to your fellow readers and lead them here. Who knows, maybe they'll like it.

**Songspirations.** I've had a few people telling me that certain songs remind them of the MinLex tandem, which is awesome. I'm into music as well so it wouldn't come as a surprise if it influences my writing style. Personally, my go-to song is always going to be Tadhana by Up Dharma Down. *shrugs* I apologize if not all of you can understand its lyrics but it pretty much sums up their relationship and Alex's feelings towards the shuckface. "Tadhana" means "Fate" btw.

Hope to hear from you guys. If you have questions, post them in the r/v or pm me (for those who have accounts) and I'll reply the best way I can. See ya!


	45. The Greater Good

Ava Paige looked at the eighteen-year old in front of her. Subject A47 was a face that she did not expect to see again. However, expectations rarely followed through in the reality that she lived in.

"You've changed a lot," she said. Years of hardship in the Maze and the Scorch had given Alex a weathered aura. Dark circles formed under her eyes making her look chronically tired. On top of that, she had a guarded stance. Her body language told Ava that the petite girl was a person who always braced herself for the worst. And she had a good reason to.

Alex smiled bitterly at her. "It comes with getting a clean slate, I guess. You would know." The chancellor reached out to her but she flinched away.

"I thought it was for the best," Ava explained. "You wouldn't even be alive now if I hadn't put you through the Swipe-"

"You call this living, Ava?" the younger girl blurted out. "You think I ought to be thankful that I got to die another day? In the meantime I get to see people I know drop like flies! Some of them I had to put down with my own hands!" She pointed at the closed door across the room. "I almost killed that guy today. And thank God that he's the type who refuses to die or else I wouldn't have known what to do with myself. So really now. Couldn't you do better? Is this the life you _wanted _me to live?"

A part of Alex knew she was being irrational. Not all of the misery she experienced was the woman's fault. However, her decision to take Alex's life in her own hands did serve as the catalyst for many of the trials she endured. Ava kept her composure. "Honestly, I wouldn't have cared less if you lived like a rat under a rock in the middle of the damn Scorch. I just wanted you to live long enough to bear a child and pass your DNA to him."

"You're sick!"

"Wake up, Alex! We live in a sick world. While you were busy moaning about the life that I had so ruthlessly stolen from you, I was bending over _backwards_ to make sure that humanity stood a chance at surviving, that those with the Cure do not fall into the wrong hands and that you, with the ability to create these children, do not get sold off like cattle in the black market." Ava put her hand on the girl's knee and this time, Alex didn't move away. "I don't blame you for lashing out like this. I understand. You got the short end of the stick. But I needed every one of you alive. I thought that even if I ripped your apart, I could live with it as long as your survival was ensured in a way. Quite frankly I didn't expect you to meet Minho again. No one was supposed to know about your past, not even you."

'This is messed up,' the green-eyed girl thought. There was a long pause wherein neither of them could look at each other. Eventually, Alex's curiosity got the best of her.

"What's the Torch Gene? From what Julia said back there it has something to do with the Cure...and that we have it."

"My dear, it has everything to do with the Cure." Ava took another one of the woody-smelling little sticks and lit it up, filling the room with thick smoke. She glanced sideways at the younger girl and offered her a drag, which she declined.

"Children like Millie are not born out of pure accident," she started. "They're not freaks of nature from random couples. A child with the Cure is born from two Immunes who carry a rare genetic mutation in their blood. Hans nicknamed it the Torch Gene, as in pass the torch. It is a recessive trait, meaning that a carrier's blood doesn't necessarily provide the Cure. But with the right mate, their children might...your children might."

Alex was quiet for a while. She had never really entertained the idea of having a child. Besides, it wasn't like she had the opportunity to make one with anyone in the first place. Motherhood was at the bottom of her to-do list, right below learning how to knit and learning how to foxtrot, which she thought was a ball game.

"How did you know all this?"

"Millie was the first identified infant to carry the Cure. He was three months old when the tests confirmed this. To leave no stones unturned, we also took blood samples from his parents and compared it to the blood of every Immune who entered WICKED's premises. We did this secretly, with the intent of putting a stop to the Trials. You see, not all of us agreed with the inhuman treatment that they planned for the Subjects to go through. Believe what you want but not all of us are heartless."

Alex looked doubtful and the older woman couldn't stop the small smile from spreading on her lips. "You don't believe me."

"I do," Alex murmured, looking out the window. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready to accept that fact. It's easier to hate you."

"Oh."

"Anyway, the Trials pushed through."

"It did. Progress was slow. First of all, we feared for our lives. Our movements were strictly monitored so our time and our resources were limited. Also, the process was grueling for us. It took countless hours to test a single person. And like I've mentioned earlier, it is a very rare trait. During the six-year time period that we ran the blood tests, only twenty of the thousands we've screened tested positive for the gene. We couldn't work fast enough to gather sufficient data before the Trials were launched. To make matters worse, some of the carriers were Subjects. The Creators were killing off our hope of survival without even knowing it."

"Why couldn't you just tell them?" Alex asked. "If they knew about the truth, then they might have just stopped. Or am I missing something?"

Ava walked over to the window and flicked the cigarette butt outside. She pulled out another one and lit it up. She hadn't chain-smoked in months and she found herself unable to resist the temptation.

"Businessmen and scientists all over the world had spent years and billions of money to torture the killzone patterns out of you. With this much at stake, do you really think they would stop at their tracks just because I told them to? If there's one thing I learned from working with megalomaniacs, it is that some people are willing to look past reason if their pride and money are at stake. Our best move was to play along with their game while making sure that most, if not all, of the identified carriers survived the ordeal. Adam. Siggy. Thomas. Minho. Tanya. Rachel. Rosario. Seven adolescents with the power to change the world, trapped inside a deadly Maze. And only so few of us knew about it.

When I heard that Minho was about to be terminated, I planned to step up. But then I heard Thomas beat me to it by sending you in the Trials. To be honest, I thought sacrificing you was the lesser evil. It's better to kill an average Immune than a Torch carrier." By then, Ava gave her a playful smirk. "Until you pulled another trick up your sleeve. You were not an average Immune. Unlike Minho though, you were marked for death from the start. We had to comply to their expectations...so we made them think you were dead."

Alex had a hard time accepting what she was hearing. Strangely enough, she understood Ava now. And she had an uneasy feeling, deep in her guts, that had she been in the elusive woman's shoes, she would've done the same thing: put a clueless child through hell if it meant more chance for humanity to survive.

'Don't kid yourself. You know you will,' she thought. If she could dig a knife into Millie's neck then she was capable of anything.

"Are you sure?" she asked, barely a whisper now. "This isn't some terrible mistake and we absolutely had to go through all that...because of this gene you think I have."

"You have Thomas to thank for _all that_," Ava mocked. "He called out your blood status when he took out files of your killzone patterns and compared it against his and Minho's. What we only did was rule out any coincidences by sampling your blood. Six hours later, the tests came out positive. You are a carrier."

Alex was speechless. She didn't _want _to believe what she was hearing.

"Through Thomas' notes, we were able to conclude that a person with the gene shows a distinct killzone pattern that we previously overlooked before. These patterns made you what we termed as "difficult reads" and most of you with that pattern were chalked off as not being strong enough to survive the Trials. That's why many of you were found in the maintenance, healthcare, and engineering sectors. One of the carriers with the most pronounced mutation was a junior nurse, your junior nurse."

"Brenda." Julia had mentioned it earlier.

Ava nodded. "Wouldn't be surprised if the child she's carrying now turns up with the Cure. It's Thomas', is it not?"

Alex's jaw dropped south. This was the first "good" surprise she had come across in ages. "You're kidding me!" Laughter bubbled out of her. Despite the morbid discussion she had with the chancellor moments ago, she couldn't help but be delighted. "How did she find out?"

"I had to tell her about it. She thought the widening hips and swelling boobs were just from eating too much and blamed the morning sickness on stress. Have I mentioned that this girl was a nurse?" When she saw doubt cross Alex's face, she added, "I was a mother once, Alexandria. Sometimes it only takes one to know one."

The younger girl's smile faded away. A moment later so did Ava's. Alex sighed and looked away, keeping her gaze steady on a spot on the floor.

"I know what you're thinking. What kind of mother allows innocent children to be tortured in front of her and not dare lift a finger?"

Alex didn't miss a beat. "A Crank's mother." Ava quickly turned to look at her and they locked eyes. Then and there, she knew she was right. "You wouldn't have endured all that if you haven't seen firsthand what the virus does to children who aren't immune. That's why you were desperate to find a Cure. We all are but especially you." She pretended not to notice how Ava's hand shook as she took another drag of her cigarette, neither did she acknowledge the deafening silence that fell between the two of them in light of her discovery.

"What was his name?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Her," Ava corrected. There was a bright glint in her blue eyes when she looked at her. "Her name...was Alexis."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_I know a lot of you can't wait for Minho and shuck but I think I had to put this out first. Plus, it's Ava Paige. Her character always intrigued me, mostly because none of us have any idea about her backstory. She's just there...all of a sudden we have a Chancellor Paige helping Thomas and co. escape WICKED's facility but why? What's with her? Welp, that's my own twist to the mystery. Anyways, hope you had a good read. And hope to hear from ya!


	46. Aftermath

That night, Alex dreamed of the dead. She dreamed of Newt, Van, Jeff and Anton. She caught glimpses of Glenn, Johann and Seb. She kneeled beside Helen for ages until she realized that someone was standing behind her. She turned around to see who it was. In her mind, Alexis Paige looked like Isabel, except she had her mother's steel blue eyes. The beautiful girl was murmuring something she couldn't hear. And she would never know what she said because she had woken up in the middle of it all, shivering and sweating in a room that smelled of stale cigarettes.

By morning, she had begged Clint to let her out. She told him she was getting a bad case of cabin fever.

"Cabin fever?" he scoffed. "You've only been here for two days. And quite honestly, you still look like klunk."

It took another hour of nagging and pestering before the freckled boy begrudgingly gave up and allowed her to go out. Before she left, Clint handed her three yellow pills.

"What are these?" she asked, taking one by her fingers and examining it under a ray of sunlight.

"Medics call them painkillers. Take one every couple of hours when you feel any pain. Just one, alright?"

As soon as he walked out of the room, she threw all three down her throat. She has had a lifetime's worth of pain. She doubted a few tiny pills would make a difference.

Not surprisingly, Alex was high as a kite when she took a peek inside Minho's room that afternoon. Sonya was there with him, just like most days. And like most days, she only saw the top of his shock of black hair. That day though, she thought she could slowly smell him the longer she stared at his cute head. It was ridiculous but Alex believed it with all her opioid-flooded mind. The smell vanished when Sonya stood in front of her, blocking her view.

"How is she?" she asked, struggling to sound sane, which was easier said than done considering she could see fireflies dancing around her head.

"He's better now," the taller girl replied, eyeing her closely. "They gave him something for the chest wound so at the moment it's nothing more than a welt. They're saying it will completely vanish in another day or two. His fever has gone down so we're guessing the infection is healed."

"Has he woken up?" She craned her neck to catch another glimpse of Minho. Sonya stood her ground and refused to budge. Alex noted this and met her cold glare with one of her own. "What?"

"He hasn't. But I'm sure you'll get word of it when he does. You always do. Anything else?" Sonya sounded clipped, almost hostile towards her. She concluded that their agreement to act civil towards each other, which sprang from the need to work together for the sake of Minho, was now null and void. Things were back to the way they were before the attack. Alex found herself playing the role of _homewrecker_ once again in a love triangle that she never dreamed nor wished to take part in.

Sonya took the long stretch of silence as a 'no'. "Get some rest then. You look like you need more of it." She was about to close the door when the green-eyed girl reached out and stopped her.

"Actually there is more. We're already stuck in this suckfest anyway so I might as well set the record straight now. You know that slinthead over there?" She nodded at the sleeping Minho. Sonya narrowed her eyes at her.

"You love him."

"Always."

The blonde girl flinched inwardly. After months of beating around the bush, Alex was finally being straightforward about it. And though she hated to admit it, she felt threatened. "I know. You don't really think I'm that blind, do you?"

"I was hoping you were, but no." After a few seconds of stunned silence, Alex added, "Dude, did I just say that out loud-"

"Well so do I," Sonya interjected.

"I know. The bedside vigils gave that away. I'm clumsy, not stupid." 'And these painkillers are the new good stuff,' Alex thought mirthfully while the blonde gaped at her unusual bluntness. The girl under the influence shook her head and continued, "Look, I'm not here to steal your boyfriend, alright?"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Don't tempt me...just kidding. But really...don't. Geez, Sonya just listen to me please! I didn't come here to rub in what the entire village already knows. Also, I'm on these awesome drugs right now and I can't lie as I'm sure you've noticed. I like you. I know that the feeling isn't mutual but it doesn't matter because I think you're a great girl, great enough to deserve the truth up front and not just those heresays." Alex paused, wringing her fingers nervously as she gathered more courage to own up to her not-so-well-kept secret. "The thing is, I have feelings for him. Not very convenient since for over a year, I forgot why I had them in the first place. But things are coming back now. I remember. And for us to find a way to live with each other, I think it's better that we have that awkward little fact in the open."

Another deafening silence fell between the two girls. Sonya was at a loss for words. Alex's confession felt like the final nail in the coffin for her and Minho's relationship. She knew what she saw back in the Patch. She couldn't forget the way the half-crazed Minho reacted towards the dark-haired girl. For him to respond to her that way in a time when everything was going wrong meant that whatever they had had to be real. Perhaps it still was and that was what crushed her. He may be good at lying with words but when it came to Alex, his actions always betrayed him.

Alex, on the other hand, was thinking of an entirely different scenario. With the Swipe's hold on her brain weakening by the hour, an influx of memories from her haunted past bombarded her non-stop. Sleep became difficult and hours of staying awake forced her to think about things she had been trying to ignore. Eventually she thought about where she stood with the Runner. Despite what happened the other day, none of those changed the fact that Sonya was still his girlfriend. Bringing him back to life didn't give her the right to steal him away from her. She may be a novice at relationships but she was sure that things didn't work that way.

"Trust me when I tell you that I intend to keep my word," Alex said, breaking the silence between the two of them. "I'll stay away. If you don't need to hear from me, you probably won't. But you have to promise me one thing."

Sonya felt heat rush up her cheeks. "I don't owe you anything!"

"I don't care!" Green eyes grew more vivid with anger. "The last thing I want to hear is that he came back from the dead to live a fucking miserable life and I'm not having that so promise me! Promise me that you'll keep loving him no matter what, no matter how stubborn that asshole can be, no matter how difficult it gets. Love him as much as you say you do. Make sure he's happy." She blinked away the tears that burned at the back of her eyes, cursing inwardly as she did. "After everything he's been through, he deserves it."

Sonya could only nod. She didn't say a word as she watched Alex's retreating form. Maybe she was imagining it but she could swear the latter's shoulders shook as she stepped out of the wooden building. She closed the door and leaned against it as she cried silently. This time she couldn't fool anybody, not even herself. Alex was asking for things that she could never give to him. The fact that the brave girl had been willing to step away made it all the more harder because it forced her to face the truth.

She was not the one he needed.

* * *

The sedatives they gave him kept his constant nightmares at bay. Hence, he was plunged into an endless abyss for days, giving his mind and body more than enough time to recuperate. The day he woke up, Minho felt like a new person. He felt like he could run across the globe if they gave him the right shoes.

There were four people peering down on him. Thomas, Brenda, Harriet and Sonya smiled so widely at him that he couldn't resist smiling back.

"And there he is," Brenda's husky voice echoed in his ears. "My baby's godfather has finally come to join us."

Minho looked at her questioningly. 'Godfather?'

"What?"

Harriet shook her head. "You have a lot of catching up to do, stick."

"Welcome back," Thomas chirped. "You know for a moment there we all thought you got away from us."

Sonya and Thomas helped him as he pushed himself to sit up. He peered behind the small crowd, checking on the spaces between their heads only to find that no one else was there.

"What's wrong? Are you looking for someone?" Brenda gave him a knowing look.

Of course he was. He tried to ignore the pang of disappointment he felt when he realized that the person he expected to greet him wasn't there. He turned to Brenda, gave her a small smile and shook his head. "Nah. I'm good."

For the next hour, Thomas filled him in on everything that had happened in Paradise. The attack from the Right Arm cost them a lot of casualties. The village was still mourning for the dead. Fortunately though, not all was lost. Millie and the people on the list remained safe and sound. Vince was caught and their attempt to abduct them was thwarted just in time. Paradise's "real treasures", as Ava had called them, remained hidden from the rest of the world. Thomas filled him in on who the people on the list were and what it meant for each one of them. _She _was in it. His Alex was a carrier.

"She was Swiped, you know after that Griever attack in the Maze. Ava knew she wouldn't leave without you so before she started biting at people's ears, she gave her the Swipe."

Minho didn't comment on that. Instead, he asked about their defense system, the one that the Chancellor and her men were helping them build. Thomas was more than happy to change the subject. On a lighter note, not all news was of loss and paranoia. Brenda and Thomas were expecting. One of the Gladers was about to become a parent. And of course, Minho agreed to be its godfather. He vowed to be the coolest god-dad there ever was.

"Have you guys thought of a name?" Harriet asked. Thomas and Brenda exchanged looks.

"It's Chuck," Thomas said with an air of finality.

"But what if it's a girl?" Sonya asked. Brenda shrugged and placed an arm over Thomas' shoulder. "My man here is pretty sure that it's going to be a boy. I believe him." Soon after, the two lovers were caught in a liplock.

Minho rolled his eyes. "You guys want me to move over so you can use the bed? Who knows, maybe it's not too late to have twins or something."

* * *

Brenda was a stickler for following visiting hours. As soon as it was over, she shoved Thomas and Harriet out the door and trailed right behind them, vowing to be back on the following day. Sonya stayed behind to help him eat, which annoyed him more than it should. He hated being babied.

"I'm not an invalid. I haven't forgotten how to feed myself," he grumbled in between spoonfuls of hot soup.

"Humor me, babe," Sonya pressed. "It's not everyday that I get the chance to do this for you."

"Who said you're allowed to do such thing?" He managed to wrestle the spoon from her grasp and swirled it in the bowl of thick soup. He never took another bite. Bits and snippets from the days before were coming back to him. He remembered the uncontrollable rage which took over his reasoning. He remembered acting like a crazy animal as he attacked those guards who were looking after him. Most of all he remembered her, how she screamed when he nearly broke her wrist, the palpable fear in her eyes as she laid trapped underneath him.

_'Don't forget, you pushed her off a shucking hill,'_ a voice inside him mocked. _'Real smooth, shuckface. You're the ultimate gentleman.'_

He sighed miserably as the guilt ate his insides.

"D'you still miss her?" Sonya asked out of the blue. The question caught Minho off guard but he was able to maintain his stoic front.

"Who?"

"You know darn well who I'm talking about."

The almond-eyed boy met Sonya's gaze while he carefully thought of a safe reply to the loaded question. "I haven't really thought about it." He could feel her scrutinizing his every reaction. He knew how she could easily interpret the shifting of his eyes, the hitch in his breath, even the movement of his Adam's apple as he swallowed down his uneasiness. Sonya made her next move.

"Clint had to give her stitches you know. She didn't even notice that she had this gaping wound somewhere until we made it back here. He had to sew it shut. By the time he was finished, he was paler than Alex. It was ridiculous."

Minho laughed at this. This was Clint they were talking about, the guy who was always eager to amputate someone's limb back in the Glade. Now he was given this small teaser in the form of a nasty wound and he nearly fainted over it.

"Pusscake," he mumbled. "What about Alex?" The question left his lips before he could stop it. To make things more bizarre, Sonya gave him a triumphant look, as though she was thinking, 'I knew it!'

The blonde girl shrugged teasingly. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

At this point Minho was just scared. He didn't know what mind game Sonya was playing. Besides, he just woke up from a stupor. He didn't have enough brain cells working yet to analyze what the blonde wanted from him.

"I mean it," continued. "Go and talk to her. She snagged a long-term gig in the Green Patch doing God-knows-what. Whatever it was, Lisa is immensely relieved to have someone tend the place for hours everyday." It was a lie. Sonya knew that the reason Alex was working there was to avoid them. Lisa was too depressed to care about plants and herbs. "Usually she stays out late because she has to wait for a Nav to fetch her." She peeked out out at the empty hallway outside the room. "So if you leave now, you can still catch her there. I can ask Leo to let you out."

"What the shuck are you doing?" he asked, putting the bowl of lukewarm soup away. "First you tell her to stay away and now you're telling me to chase after her."

"Oh. She told you about that?"

"She didn't have to." He knew her too well. It wasn't like she was the most subtle person either. "Look, if you want to start a fight-"

"I'm not! Jesus!" she blurted out. Clint, who passed by the door, silently closed it shut to give the couple some privacy. Sonya took deep breaths to calm herself down. "You didn't see what I saw back there, alright? If you did, you were either too crazy or too dead to remember it."

During those long nightmarish hours when Minho was delirious from the poison, she saw a side of him that she had never seen before. It was difficult to explain and yet it helped her understand why Alex couldn't stay away. She looked out the window, refusing to meet his questioning gaze.

"Just do what I say," she said. "You two have been miserable long enough."

Minutes later, he had put his shirt and boots on and was halfway out the door. Remembering one last thing, he turned around to face Sonya.

"I'm sorry."

And he meant it. He had failed her and no amount of flowery words could change that fact.

Hazel bet dark brown. "No, _I'm _sorry."

Knowing what she knew now, everything started to make sense. Alex had a part of him that Sonya had fooled herself to believe she owned. Minho had entrusted his heart to the girl years ago, long before the cheeky boy even knew what the consequences for this were. She kept it with her the day WICKED forced them apart. And it was so glaringly obvious that up until now, she still had it.

* * *

He found her right where Sonya said he would. She stood over a bed of flowery plants, writing silently on a makeshift notebook that she had on hand. Her back was facing him and she was oblivious to his presence. Even with baggy denims on, he was certain that she stood with her toes angled towards each other. He had teased her about it once, told her that the reason she always tripped over herself was because she walked like a pigeon. Her hair was tied into a neat bun, something he hadn't see her do in ages, long before she chopped her locks off prior to entering the Maze. He thought about pulling it down, undoing the updo with a flick of his wrist, something he mastered when he was ten. It used to be the foolproof way to get her attention. He didn't have to see her face to know that she was biting half of her lower lip. She always did it when she was concentrating or in deep thought.

Minho realized that he knew all these little things about her and yet he had no idea how she was going to react if she sees him. He thought about that shouting match they had in the apothecary. He thought about how she held him while he fought for his sanity. He thought about how he had made her cry in fear. After everything that had happened, was she going to welcome him back with open arms or was she going to hold what he did to her against him and yell at him to stay away? His jumbled thoughts stopped him from approaching her. His legs froze a couple of feet away from where she stood.

A twig snapped under the weight of his boot. Alex spun around at the sound.

"Hey," was his only reply to the wide-eyed look of shock she gave him. He counted up to five and when she still didn't say anything, he added, "Sonya said I could find you here."

This time, she cocked her head to the left and gave him a sideway glance. "Now why would she do that? Wh-why-why are you here?" she stammered. Little did Minho know, the sight of him made her heart swell. Seeing him awake and alive and _himself_ made her want to jump at his arms and kiss him senseless but the shock rendered her immobile.

_Because you weren't there when I woke up._ "I wanted to see how you were doing. Looks like you got yourself your own Council Room in the middle of nowhere. Nice."

_Come to me dammit._ "I'm dong fine Min. I should be asking you the same thing. When did you wake up?"

"A few hours ago." He noted the stiff way she held herself. She pressed the clipboard on her chest like a shield. Neither of them made a move to close the distance between the two of them.

"You don't have to be scared of me anymore Alexandria. I don't bite."

"I'm not," she replied quickly. Too quickly.

_After what happened, why wouldn't you be?_ "Right. Um, time to go. I guess I'll see you back in the village. Or not." He looked down, feeling defeated and turned his back on her.

"Minho wait!"

Brown locked with green. His breath hitched in his throat. Every part of him tingled with anticipation.

"Just come here already."

"Thank you," he sighed, crossing the gap between them in three long strides. He scooped her off her feet and buried his face on the crook of her neck. Alex hugged him back just as fiercely, laughing as relief flooded her, soothing her tired bones. She closed her eyes and focused on the steady rhythm of his heart beating against her chest.

"Welcome back," she whispered in his ear.

"I thought I lost you again." His reply came out muffled. He kept his face hidden even as he eased her back to the ground.

Alex smiled as she shook her head. "You never learn, do you? Hey, look at me." When she tried to pull away, he hugged her tighter. His sniffles and shaky hiccups echoed in the open space.

"Do you need a minute?"

Despite his tears, Minho couldn't help but smile against her skin. The question brought him back to the first time he cried in front of her, another lifetime ago it seemed. He had asked her to give him a minute to pull himself back together. The question gave away the wonderful fact that she remembered how it happened. He clung on to her as he sobbed his heart out. This time he didn't hold back. If there was one person in the world who was allowed to see him this vulnerable it was Alex. He didn't mind even as she patted his back and rocked him side to side.

"It's okay." She whispered. "I got you. It's okay."

He believed her. Every breath he took smelled like clean skin and jasmine and girl. That was how he knew that he was finally home. For the first time in years, Minho felt settled.

* * *

They sat side-by-side under the shade of one of the bigger trees near the Patch. Minho's left hand rested on Alex's lap while she absentmindedly traced its knuckles with her finger.

They talked about everything that happened in Paradise. They talked about Thomas and Brenda. They talked about how Sonya had let him go. The last topic filled the both of them with a mixture of relief and guilt. Alex thought it was unfair that the blonde had to be the one to let go. Minho pointed out that he was actually glad she let go first. He planned on doing the same thing to her. His confession brought another round of silence.

"Anyway, you know what I didn't get?" she asked after a long pause. "You chased me all that way just to scream at my face that you hated me. I get it. We have issues. But couldn't we talk about it while sitting down? Over a drink of moonshine perhaps?"

Minho smiled and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, you took off before I could say anything. What was I supposed to do?"

"Call out? Say you wanted to talk?" She nudged him with her shoulder as he rolled his eyes at her. Barely an hour after their intense, tear-filled reunion and they were already getting into each others' nerves. Minho thought that perhaps some things will never change.

"Actually I did want to hurt you, the same way I shucked up those guards. A part of me feared that I would succeed and um...in a way I did." He looked at her guiltily.

"I'm sorry I pushed you off that hill."

"I'm sorry I killed you."

"Truce?" Both chuckled as they shook hands to finalize their agreement.

Alex sighed and rested her chin on top of her folded knees. They were both silent as they watched a cloud pass through the greenery.

"That anger though," Green eyes glanced at him. "It was real. Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Because I don't talk about shuck _feelings_." Another pointed look later, he added, "I wanted to forget about it alright? What's done is done. It's not like we could undo it. And besides..."

"What?"

"You had just started talking to me again when I found out. I didn't want to push you away by going bat crazy and screaming in your face, even though you deserved it."

Minho's brutal honesty knew no appropriate instances and left no prisoners.

"Really?"

"You have to admit, that was a really dick move, even for a girl. You make me fall in love with you and then you _die?_ What kind of slinthead does that?"

He ducked away just in time as a random nut whizzed past his head. Minho stuck his tongue out at Alex mockingly.

"I thought you said you don't talk about feelings!" she retorted. She threw another nut at him, which he successfully ducked away from once again. "And there I was, poor amnesiac girl, thinking you were so over it and had moved on with Sonya."

"It was never over for me, Alexandria."

And he meant it. He didn't want to say it out loud but he doubted it ever will be. Despite their differences, she was and always will be his person, the one he deemed worthy to be his partner. If the billion-dollar Swipe couldn't make him change his mind about it, he doubted anything else will.

Minho didn't want to come off as a sap. And so he swallowed the giddiness he felt when she turned to smile at him, the happiest one he had seen her wear in ages.

"I guess you're lucky I found you then."

_Yes._ He shrugged.

Alex didn't miss the way his gaze landed on her lips. Feeling self-conscious, she moistened them by running her tongue over them. It was all the invitation that he needed.

The kiss wasn't as hungry and as torrid as the many kisses she remembered sharing with him. This one was gentle and had an almost tired feel in it. Every caress was accompanied by the undeniable feeling of nostalgia. Every sigh was like a whispered '_finally_'. They were no longer lovedrunk children who were curiously fumbling through the thrilling rush of lust. They grew up a long time ago and now they felt like two old souls who were unexpectedly reunited after being in battle for too long. The feeling of her skin against his felt enough. And after everything that happened, both of them knew that these sweet, tired kisses and interlocked hands would have to do for the months to come.

They had been through so much. But so much more had to be done.

Minho planted butterfly kisses all over her face as they caught their breaths. Alex's hand had slipped underneath his shirt and had rested on his bare chest, right over his heart. When he paused to look at her, she planted a deep kiss on his lips, the last one they shared that day.

"Don't let me go again," he said, staring intently at her.

Alex smiled and shook her head.

"After all that? Never."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_Title of the chapter is from the song "Aftermath" by Lifehouse. The concept of their meetup was heavily influenced by this one. Do try listening to it. It's very beautiful.

*twiddles thumbs* I see an ending coming. Wow. After all that, I get to finally leave the two lovers alone to get on with their merry lives. No more emotional, physical, psychological tortures. No more cruel cliffhangers. Just a few loose ends to tie and voila. For those expecting a Thomas/Brenda baby announcement I'm sorry I didn't follow through. Ben already spoiled it for us, readers. So what's the point? =)

Maybe a chapter or two more before the ending. I already have the final scene and I have an epilogue thing coming up. Hopefully, fingers crossed, both will be posted soon.

For those of you guys who have reached this far, thank you (even those who silent readers who never tell me who they are...yes, I know you're there). This concept was my first ever brainchild that I got to share with everybody. First it was only meant to flex my writing muscles but then it turned into this multi-chaptered thing. I'm glad it did though. And um..hope you enjoyed this latest chapter! Don't hesitate to leave a review!


	47. The Method in Their Madness

Paradise was born from tragedy. It's story sprang from one woman's desperate attempt at preserving the human race. It's first chapters were marked with the death of loved ones. Its fertile lands bore witness to the survivors' monstrous task of moving on. But more than the pains of starting a new civilization from scratch, Paradise witnessed hope. It thrived when its people had more reasons to quit than persevere. It survived even when outside forces nearly succeeded in completely snuffing it out.

Ava Paige knew that Paradise had become more than just a refuge. Its people had so much to offer. Its future generations will serve as the first successful pioneers in the fight against the Flare virus. She knew she would protect it with her life, even if it was the last thing she did.

In the span of a few months, the small village had transformed from a harmless farmland into an impenetrable fortress. Resources and manpower were provided to fortify its now stone walls. Gally, along with the rest of the Builders, worked with engineers and architects to ensure that the physical aspects of its defense system were built well enough to withstand future attacks. A Berg was loaned for the Navs. With the help of Jorge, their lead navigator utilized it to map various resource points and strategic spots surrounding the area. They completed the task after a few days. On foot, it normally would have taken him months and the help of at least four more Navigators. Thomas preferred it that way. Minho's maps were far more accurate than anyone else's. As the newly-appointed lead strategist, accuracy was his strongest ally. He would need as much of it as he could get for his tactics to work. Thomas thought they had to, for the sake of the baby Brenda was carrying more than anyone else's. People thought he was being selfless for volunteering to do such as gigantic task. What they didn't know was that his motives were actually quite selfish.

'I'm doing this for you Chuck...and you, Teresa.'

Thomas put his charcoal pencil down and ran his hands through his hair. In the silence of the now empty Council Room, his thoughts went back to his conversation with Ava, that same day he found out about Brenda's pregnancy.

_"Teresa hoped this would happen."_

_Thomas' breath hitched at his throat as he stared wide-eyed at the middle-aged woman beside him. He was haunted by so many ghosts in his past. Teresa's had been the one he had always avoided talking about._

_"What are you trying to say?"_

_Ava gazed forward into the patch of trees in front of them. "She knew about the Torch Gene Thomas, long before any of you even heard of it. She knew about the list of people whom we had identified as carriers. And she was completely aware that she wasn't in it, despite being an Immune. When she found out about you and Brenda, she said she wanted to encourage it. She let you go to be with Brenda because she knew it was for the greater good. Teresa had always been more passionate about finding a Cure than anything else. I'm not asking you to beat yourself up with the ghost of her but I am asking you to respect her memory. She did love you, Thomas. She just loved the world more."_

* * *

The two were a couple. That much she was sure of. She had seen the two of them strolling down the village more often since Minho came out of his stupor. They would have dinner together, sometimes breakfast if time allowed them. Once when they thought they were alone she had seen him give Alex as kiss on the lips, just a quick one that barely lasted a second, before they parted ways for work, him heading to the First House while she headed to the apothecary.

Yup, they were definitely a couple. But something was off. It was as if they were holding back. After all the drama they had been through, from Alex's amnesia to Minho's brush with death, their apparent lack of affection almost felt anti-climactic. Brenda hated to compare how Minho was with the two girls but between Sonya and Alex, he looked more in tune with the former when they were still dating than he was now with the latter. With Alex, as long as she wasn't falling on her face or dangling off a tree, he pretty much left her to her own devices. And the more bizarre thing is that the green-eyed girl seemed fine with their arrangement.

One night during dinner, she decided to tackle the issue. The pregnant girl waddled towards Minho who was eating his meal alone on one of the fallen trees by the dining area.

"Whoa," he exclaimed as he came face-to-face with Brenda's belly. He took her hand and eased her down the low makeshift seat. "With a bump that huge, I wouldn't be surprised if you give birth to a kid as big as Millie."

"You're hurting my pregnant feels, asshole," Brenda retorted. "Where's Alex?"

"She's with Millie. He's due to be bled out tonight."

"Has she had dinner?"

Minho took a spoonful of whatever was in his bowl and shook his head. Brenda looked at him as though he had just kicked a kitten. He stopped chewing.

"Well then why didn't you wait for her?"

The almond-eyed boy took his time in answering, carefully choosing what words to say next. Thomas had told him about Brenda's unusually short fuse a couple of days earlier. He said it was because of these things called 'hormones'.

"Well?" she pressed.

"Because...I'm...hungry? I forgot to take my lunch with me today. Gimme a break."

"Wow!" she screamed. Minho felt his butt fly off the wood for a millisecond. "Really chivalrous of you Min-HO! Did you even think of bringing her some dinner first before stuffing your face with yours?"

"Brenda-"

"NO!" She wagged her finger in front of him. "_You_ listen to _me._ Alex has been through so much, alright? She's been through enough shit to drive a normal girl insane and she came out of it all as strong as ever." She dragged the syllables of the last word. "She deserves a real man."

Again, Minho took his time in answering, first to stop himself from laughing, second to make sure Brenda didn't end up frothing in the mouth from rage and third to figure out where the hell Thomas was. His crazy girlfriend was ruining his once peaceful dinner.

"Right. Are you finished?"

"No."

"Oh. Let's hear it out then."

"Don't you love her?"

"Of course I do. Why the shuck am I even telling you this?"

"Then why do you act like you don't?" By this time, Brenda was teary-eyed. "You don't hold her hand. You don't kiss her in front of everybody. You don't give a shit whether or not she's starving. You don't even give her flowers and it's been months! You did all that with Sonya. Why not do it with her?"

Minho ought to be mad. Maybe it was because he was talking to a pregnant woman, the first pregnant woman he had seen in over a decade. Maybe it was because it was the first time he saw tough-ass Brenda acting so emotional. Either way, he managed to remain calm. He didn't even have to try because he wasn't mad at all.

"Because she's not Sonya," he started. "That's the thing. Alex doesn't need those things as much as she does. Don't get me wrong, Sonya is great but she...she can be such a girl sometimes." He shifted in his seat so he was facing her. Brenda was all ears.

"The reason I don't hold her hand when we walk is because she has short legs. And let's be honest, she walks in slow-motion."

"What does have to do with holding _hands_?"

"If I force her to match my stride and we're not running for our lives or in any particular hurry chances are I'm gonna end up dragging her on the ground or worse, dislocating her shoulder and I don't want that. I _do _kiss her. But not long enough for people to notice. She's probably wondering why as well and the reason is, if I kiss her for too long I'm going to remember how much I _want _her, all of her. Not that I ever forget but I am trying to stop myself from forcing her into something she's not ready to do. Abstinence has been a bitch to me, Brenda. You wouldn't know. And she doesn't have to know either." He gave her a warning look. "Alex does not starve, unless there's food shortage and she has no choice. If she's hungry, she will feed herself. She won't wait for me and she expects I do the same. Speaking of food, I did sneak out a few of Frypan's honey cookies to her this afternoon. She prefers them over the flowers, unless they're medicinal. If not, she had told me before not to bother."

Minho shook his head and patted the emotional girl on the knee.

"And maybe you're right. She deserves a better man. But have a little faith on me, will you? Because I am working my butt off to be that better man...for her anyway. I don't give two klunks if the rest of you don't think it's romantic."

"What isn't romantic?"

The two friends turned to see Alex standing in front of them, green eyes going back and forth between Brenda and Minho.

"Min, she looks like you destroyed her pregnant feels," she pointed out, looking back at Brenda with concern. "Are you alright?"

The other girl chuckled in embarrassment before nodding. "Yeah." She turned away and wiped her face with her sleeve.

"Why do people always assume it's my fault?" He stood up and walked over to Alex, giving her a quick kiss.

"Because most of the time it is," she replied, smacking her lips together a few times to guess what Minho just ate. "Oh my God, are we having chicken?"

Minho grinned at her and patted her on the head. "I'll go get your food. Stay here and talk to your psycho-pregnant friend."

There was a quick moment when the two exchanged glances. It would have been so easy to miss it. Brenda wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been looking closely. She saw the look that he gave her, one look which said it all. It made her realize that Minho didn't just love Alex.

He adored her.

* * *

It was early in the morning and Ava Paige was set to leave that day. Her job was done. Paradise was back on its feet. Her proteges were now trained and well-equipped to work on their own. Her vision for them was turning into a reality. It was time to step back.

A knock on the door stopped her in the middle of packing. She opened it and saw a tall, dark-haired boy standing by the hallway.

"Minho," she greeted. "What a pleasant surprise."

They made their way into the Council Room, which was right across her makeshift bedroom. He courteously declined a drink that she offered.

"Look, I won't be long. Jorge is waiting for me in the Berg as we speak," he said. "I heard you're leaving today. I wanted to talk to you before you do."

Ava nodded, urging him to continue.

"Thank you. For everything." He looked down, feeling uncomfortable. "I haven't really thanked you for the things you did for us, which sucks because you basically saved us all. As difficult as it had been to understand, the truth is we wouldn't be here without you. And...thanks for saving Alexandria. I know you didn't do it for me but I'm glad anyway."

Ava Paige smiled widely, something she hadn't done in a long time. She knew Minho. He rarely expressed gratitude for anything but when he did, he meant it.

"You're welcome. I'm just happy to know that you finally saw the method in our madness."

"Some kind of madness that was," he chuckled. "It worked though, didn't it? For some of us at least."

"We couldn't save all of you. We knew that from the start. I'm glad I managed to save the ones that I did though."

A few more parting words later, he bid her farewell. He was halfway out the door when Ava called out one last time.

"A favor for a favor, Minho? Take good care of her and your child when the time comes."

His eyebrows went so high it disappeared into his hairline.

"Erm...I think you got her confused with someone else. Brenda is the one who's pregnant. Not Alex."

'Last time I checked anyway,' he added silently. Ava narrowed her eyes at him and shrugged.

"If you say so."

* * *

The sound of footsteps alerted her that the person who will be collecting the medicines had arrived. Alex quickly scanned through the small satchel bag and made sure each one was packed with all the drugs and potions that the Navigation Team asked from her. She wrapped things up upon hearing the door open.

"Took you long enough, shuckface!" She turned around and paused in surprise. "Oh. Hello."

Cole told her that morning that he was going to be the one who would pick up the supplies. The strawberry blonde girl with the figure to die for who was standing in front of her was definitely not her old friend. Sonya looked like she had just arrived from a day's work. Her light-colored hair was braided away from her face. She was wearing heavy-duty combat boots and had a rifle slung on her shoulder.

"You look shocked," Sonya pointed out, taking a few steps towards the newly-assigned Keeper of the Cures, which Alex thought was just a fancy name for 'Resident Druglord'.

"That's because I am," she replied. "Where's Cole?"

"He went back to fetch your Tillers. It was supposed to be my last task for today but he agreed to do it for me if I fetch the drugs for him. What?" Sonya couldn't help but smile at the look Alex was giving her. The latter remained quiet and simply shook her head.

Cole obviously liked Sonya. He had admitted that fact long before Minho and her had split up. And while many of his previous crushes, including the one he had with Alex, vanished after a few weeks, this one seemed to last for a long time. Perhaps it was there to stay. The green-eyed girl barely batted at eyelash when he told them that he was quitting the Builders to join the Navigators. Even Millie knew why.

Alex gave the list to Sonya and asked her if she wanted to go through the bags again to be sure.

"It's okay. If there's one thing I trust you with, it's how you handle your dope." Sonya took out a big sack and began putting all the smaller bags in it. Alex bit her lip nervously. It took her a full minute to gather enough guts to start talking.

"Listen Sonya. We never really got to talk about what happened after the attack." The blonde paused to look at her. Her silence urged Alex to continue. "I'm not gonna lie. I don't regret how things ended for me and Min. But I do regret what it meant for you. And I'm so sorry for coming in the way between the two of you."

She wanted to say more, to put into words the incredible amount of guilt she felt during the few times that she saw Sonya. She never wanted her feelings for Minho to hurt somebody else but it did. Hazel eyes locked on to her. Sonya put the sack back on the table. She pulled out one of the wooden stools nearby and took a seat facing her. She had wanted to talk to her as well.

"I was there when you gave him that scar. You know the one in his ear?"

Even after a decade or so, the bite mark was still there, a row of faint indentations running from his earlobe up to the middle of his outer ear. Alex turned a pink shade. Sonya chuckled and continued, "For a moment there I thought he was going to smash your face in for it. We all did. But then you came out of that office after half an hour of timeout and you were fine. More than fine, you two were instant friends. You were inseparable ever since. Harriet and I always found your friendship odd. Minho had always been loud and cheeky, a typical trouble maker. You weren't. But you were just as untouchable. Everybody knew that if they messed with one of you, payback would always come in a pair."

Alex remained quiet, feeling absolutely mortified at her childhood antics.

"The older we got, the closer you became," Sonya continued. "And though you didn't act like most couple that time, everyone treated you as one. That was, until the Trials began. By the time it was over, most of the kids we grew up with, including you, had disappeared. And then for sure, a lot of who were left died in that explosion. We simply assumed that the ones who didn't make it to the Flat Trans that day were gone forever. It was easier to think that way rather than deal with what ifs. At least that's what I believed. Anyway, life moved on. Not long after, I started this thing with Minho. Don't blame me, he got the hang of puberty right. Not to mention he's got attitude. That has always been the most attractive part about him.

The first night we spent together I found myself wondering if he remembered you, the little girl who was brave enough to challenge him to a brawl. I didn't know back then that you went after him in the Maze. Plus, unlike most of us I knew he didn't get his Swipe reversed. I had no way of knowing whether or not you were on his mind. You know that wasn't even the worst part. It was knowing that the boy I was with could be so much more, could give so much more, could love so much more because I've seen it happen. Just...not with me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I was jealous of you Alex...or at least, at the idea of you, long before we found out that you were alive."

Sonya smiled wryly at the girl sitting across her, who went wide-eyed and slack-jawed upon hearing her confession.

"I know he tried. He cared in his own way and I felt it. I thought maybe the Maze changed him the way it changed me. He had seen so many of his friends die. He was bound to become jaded in a way. I fooled myself into believing those reasons. Then you showed up. That first time he laid eyes on you I knew that he was still that same boy who was in love with you before the Maze. I never had him. I didn't want to believe it back then. Call it pride but for months I was just angry and baffled."

"Baffled?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"What did he see in you that he couldn't see in me? Typical girl drama."

By then Alex was frowning. Oh, she knew exactly what Sonya meant. "You mean, _But I'm more beautiful than her what the hell is wrong with this guy_?"

Sonya bit the inside of her cheek and shrugged. "I couldn't have him," she said. "No matter what I did and what I told myself, he was too stubborn. And I hate to admit this now but...it didn't take long for me to grow tired, Alex. Minho is not an easy person to love. I don't care what you say but the guy can be an asshole at times."

"I agree."

"The only thing stopping me from letting go was my pride. I had this sick notion that if I broke up with him, I would lose. And quite frankly, I didn't want to lose to a girl like you. Looking back at it, the only reason I remained attracted to him was because I knew I couldn't have him. Pretty messed up, isn't it? Honestly though I stopped loving him that way long before that day I told you to stay away."

Alex felt a flash of heat run down her back. Her fists tightened as she felt her temper begin to simmer.

"Sonya...why would you do that?" She was downright pissed. She thought that maybe she was better off not knowing that all that trouble could've been avoided. Maybe she was better off not knowing anything.

Hazel met green. "Why not? I had him first after the Trials. I felt it was justified. Besides you couldn't even admit it to yourselves, what you felt for each other. If you two weren't brave enough to own up to your feelings, then I was not obliged to make things easier for you."

Alex took deep breaths to calm her mind. She kept quiet during the whole ordeal, afraid that talking might lead her to lash out at the blonde. It was the last thing she wanted to happen. When she trusted herself enough to not lose her cool she asked, "What made you change your mind?"

"I saw how it killed you when you decided to give him up to me. Because you thought it was for the best. And um," Sonya looked down on her hands, "I couldn't give to him what you asked me to, Alex. It was your only request. You wanted me to love him. Just love him and I couldn't do that, not after knowing what I knew and definitely not after seeing what I saw. He was yours. You weren't just infatuated with him. I guess, I want to say sorry for that too. We all made mistakes, didn't we?"

Alex nodded, quickly wiping away the lone tear that dare escaped out of her. "We're just kids Sonya. What do we know?"

"Shit."

Both girls chuckled silently, each in deep thought over Sonya's revelations.

"Take my advice, for what it's worth," the blonde said, looking over at Alex. "Whatever it is you guys have between the both of you, take care of it. Don't hold it back and don't be ashamed to let the world know about it because it's real. Take pointers from Thomas and Brenda."

* * *

That afternoon she watched him step out of the Berg's walkway. She waited for him to finish talking with Jorge before quickly making her way towards him. Minho saw her and gave her a dimpled smile.

"Can I call dibs on some of your dinner later? I'm starving-" He was cut off by the petite girl as she jumped at him. Her arms snaked around his waist and gave it a firm squeeze. The dark-haired boy did not see it coming and was too stunned to hug back. Alex looked up and smiled widely at him. Minho raised an eyebrow, frowning.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she replied in a singsong voice. "Just taking pointers from Thomas and Brenda."

"The hell are you talking about?"

Alex rolled her eyes and untangled herself from him. "Nevermind. Just wanted to give that one a try. Forget what I said and yes, you can have some of my dinner." She turned to go but stopped when she felt his fingers lace with hers. She looked down at their intertwined hands and then up at him.

"I thought you're too cool to hold hands."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. Nevertheless, he bent down and captured her lips with his. He let it linger there for a couple of seconds, enjoying the feeling of having her that close to him. It was Alex who pulled back, albeit reluctantly.

"Careful. People might notice," she mumbled. She could see Jorge giving them sideway glances before shaking his head. Minho grinned at her.

"Well, we are taking pointers from Thomas and Brenda aren't we?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"So that's a given, then." He dipped down for another lingering kiss before pulling her into a bear hug and spinning the both of them in place. Alex screamed and laughed at the same time.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_One chapter down. One more to go! And it's a wrap for the Minho/Alex arc. Anyway, after that final chapter I _might, _MIGHT post one epilogue featuring a new character. The image of this dude has been bugging me for weeks now but I'm not really sure if I should post it. *shrugs* Should I?

Again for those who reviewed, thank you ever so much. Especially those went through the extra mile to post long ones. Man, I know it can be a bit tricky to post even a 2 paragraphed r/v. I know its shallow but those reviews are one of my biggest motivations in seeing this story through. I've had days when I was just pulling at my hair, absolutely clueless as to how to proceed with this massive thing I've started. But anyway, all is well. Hope to hear more from you guys.

**mxdnxghtlxve - **erm...sorry, but no. I've never read Icelyn Newton (sounds terrible but I seriously do not have the time). And it was LISA! My god, LILLY was a typo. I went back to the previous chapters and went "Ow. Crap. Change that."

Oh and one last thing: I want to hear about your **Songspirations** you guys, anything that reminds you of the two shuckfaces or simply any song which you think can help put writers "in the zone" to create some pieces. I've always been open about mine and some of you have been letting me know of your own **SPs**. I've listened to all of them and found them absolutely interesting. *shrugs* Share yours w/ me. You can PM me if you like. Thanks! Love you.


	48. Closure

WICKED was a cold environment to grow up in. It taught its young Subjects the most effective methods of understanding science and mathematics. Some of the world's greatest living scientists and tacticians were hired by the organization to teach these children what they knew. So much time was spent in honing their intellect and physical prowess that emotions were rarely talked about. What they knew about feelings and affections came in unexpected snippets of human error from their mentors. Human as they were, these mentors had moments when they themselves weren't even aware that they had breached their contract with WICKED and had let their emotional guards down. Such error was created by the then twenty-four-year old Bryan Jenkins while he was playing chess with a particular nine-year-old boy.

"Bryan, what's a wife?" the dark-haired boy asked. His almond eyes sparkled with curiosity. The redhead looked up from the chessboard and raised an eyebrow at Subject A7.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I heard them congratulating you earlier for getting a new wife. Can I see it?"

To the boy's surprise, Bryan burst out laughing. He didn't say anything funny as far as he was concerned. His mentor lifted his index finger, signalling him to wait as he fished out something from his back pocket. He took out his wallet and opened it, showing to the Subject a small picture of him and a pretty girl wearing a beautiful white dress.

"Meet Mrs. Catherine Jenkins, my wife. And since she's my wife, that makes me her husband."

'Wife. Husband. Husband and wife.' The boy had memories of the two words which were often used together in whispered phrases. Their true meanings, however, was something he never quite grasped. None of the grown-ups explained to him what they implied. No one had the time.

The nine-year old's mouth formed a small 'o' when he realized that a wife was actually a person. "But she's just a girl."

"Of course not. She's not _just _any girl. She's _my _wife."

The boy looked back and forth between him and the girl in the photograph. "I don't understand."

Bryan realized too late that he had made a blunder. Concepts like 'love' were not considered appropriate topics for discussion. Though these Subjects weren't completely blind to the idea of it, the Creators highly discouraged the mentors from speaking about it. They were concerned that these children might go back and remember the things and persons they had lost.

"What makes her different?" he pressed on. Bryan knew he had to think fast. He knew Subject A7 well. He wouldn't stop talking about it unless he could come up with a convincing and objective answer.

"We're compatible, that's why. It means we agree on many things. If we don't, then we find ways to compromise because...um, our opinions matter to each other. And we both want each other to be contented."

A7 stared blankly at him.

"Plus we prefer spending our free time with each other. When I'm not at work or with my friends or when I just need a break from everything, I want to be with her. We do a lot of things together."

'That was lame, Bryan,' the mentor chastised himself. He braced himself for another barrage of questions. He knew the conversations were recorded. The only thing he could do then was pray that he could get out of the testing room that day with his job intact. Fortunately for him, A7 seemed to have reached his own conclusion.

"I have a wife too!" he exclaimed excitedly. Bryan bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. "Yeah?"

"Of course," he said proudly.

"Does she know that you're husband and wife?"

"Not yet. I don't think she even knows the concept of it. So I'll tell her later."

The mentor shook his head in amusement and ruffled the boy's hair, which amazingly returned to its original, neat shape. "The concept of it. Those are big words, kiddo. If only things were that easy."

Bryan was right. Things weren't as easy as Minho had thought. That night, as soon as he told Alexandria that she was his wife, she put up a huge fuss and refused to take his proposal.

"Why not?" he asked, feeling more than a little irritated.

"If husbands are cooler, then I want to be a husband too!"

The kitchen hostess who overheard their naive conversation laughed until she cried.

* * *

The wedding was lively despite its modest setup. For Minho, it looked like any other night when they decided to bring out the good stuff with the addition of a thousand flowers. The delicate things hung on every corner of the village that he could think of. It lined the footpath which led to the center of the Town Square, where Brenda did her bridal march earlier. The women wore them in their hair along with the most decent tops that they owned. The men pinned them on their work shirts.

He watched from afar as Thomas and Brenda exchanged vows. Him and the rest of the remaining Gladers stood in one corner, wolf-whistling and clapping their hands whenever they deemed appropriate, sometimes to make Thomas jump. When Jaime pronounced them man and wife and asked them to kiss, the two had to reposition themselves so that Brenda's massive belly wouldn't get in the way. Even from a distance, it was easy to see that the couple glowed with joy. Minho thought that he had never seen Thomas looked that happy before. His smile finally reached his eyes. And though he would never admit it out loud, his favorite part of the wedding was when his bestfriend kneeled down and kissed his new wife's baby bump. Right then and there, he knew. Thomas was going to be a great father.

As soon as the pair stepped off of the wooden pedestal, the boys ripped Thomas away from Brenda's grasp and dumped a bucket of shredded parchment over his head.

"Good job, loverboy!"

"Always the overachiever, eh?"

"Hurry up and finish walking! We want to eat the shucking cake!"

"Did someone say cake?"

* * *

He didn't see much of her until later that night. She had been extremely busy during the day. As a member of the bride's entourage, she was one of the girls who had to make sure everything ran smoothly. On top of that, she had to act as Brenda's human stressball every time the hormonal girl became anxious and threatened to cry. Half an hour before the ceremony, she had to manually stop Brenda from seeing Thomas. The poor boy had fainted. Clint had shoved every tincture he owned up the groom's nostrils while Minho slapped him repeatedly into consciousness. He then proceeded to dump half a bottle of the good stuff down Thomas' throat to calm his nerves. It was a potential disaster which they avoided with flying colors. Alex rewarded him with a minute-long torrid kiss, the most intense one they had shared since the Glade. Now, he couldn't get enough of it.

He spotted her with the bearded Tillers, laughing with them while swirling a drink in hand. Like most days, she still had her ill-fitting jeans on, which he suspected was a pair that used to be owned by Cole. Unlike most days though, she wore a nice, clean tank top that hugged her on all the right places. Its neckline was low enough to expose the scar on her chest but for Minho, it did nothing to distract him from the curves of her chest and waist.

"My turn shanks," he called out to them, gently pulling her towards him. "Let's get out of here. I have something to show you," he whispered against her ear. The feeling of his warm breath made her shiver involuntarily. Alex said nothing but squeezed his hand in reply.

As the two frolicked away from the crowd, Cole walked passed the Tillers and heard one of them say, "Looks like somebody's leaving another bun in the oven tonight."

"Well it's about time," he replied. "I'm surprised they held out for this long."

* * *

He took her on top of the Berg which was parked on the quiet edge of Paradise. It was nearly pitch dark. Their only source of light was the faint glow of the moon and the small flashlight Minho held in his hand. They lied down on the lukewarm metal surface of the vehicle's hood, side by side, hands intertwined, gazing up at the constellations of stars above them.

"Min! This is so pretty," she sighed, her free hand reaching up to the twinkling diamonds in the black velvet sky.

"You can't see them clearly in the town center because there's too many lights. Right here, the view is perfect."

The full moon emerged behind a passing cloud, casting a surreal glow on the two lovers below it. He turned his head just in time to see her smiling widely at him.

"Just like in the Deadheads," she said.

Minho's smile faded as he stared at her, his dark eyes boring into hers.

"What?" she asked.

A year ago he thought he had lost her. He was certain that he did. A year ago, if someone told him he was going to spend this night with Alex, gazing up at stars the way they did back in the Glade, he would've laughed at his face before clipping him in the jaw. But there she was, talking and breathing, with a sheen of sweat on her forehead from their quick jog to the Berg and an array of flowers stuck in her hair. She was here. And she was his.

"Hello? Earth to Minho?" she called again.

He replied with a kiss. This time, instead of the usual peck on the lips, he kissed her deeply. His tongue explored her mouth, tasting what it could of the girl. Alex didn't dare pull away, even allowing herself to be pulled on top of him. She grasped his arms and pressed harder against his chest as she felt a sudden strong urge to feel every inch of him, all at the same time.

Unknown to her, the feeling of her curves against him brought out a desire he had been fighting against for the past few months. With each stolen kiss and sidelong glances, he could feel himself slowly losing his grip on his self-control. At that moment, with her hands squeezing his sides and her chest heaving against his, he knew he was ruined. He stopped the kiss and rested his forehead against hers.

"If you want this to stop, you're gonna have to step away yourself because I can't," he whispered hurriedly. One of his hands had snaked underneath her top and was lazily tracing lines at the side of her breast. It was too much. He needed her.

She hissed at the new sensation. Every touch put her skin on fire. She needed him. All of him. Alex kissed him one more time and nodded towards the entrance of the Berg. Her green eyes were unusually dark. Her lips looked swollen.

"Are you sure?" he asked, voice husky with lust.

"I waited over three years, Min," she groaned. "Please don't ask me to wait any longer."

* * *

That night, in an empty Berg parked on a quiet corner of the small village, Minho completed his map of Alex's body. He ran his hands and mouth over every inch of her, memorizing every line and curve by heart. He noted the different kinds of touch that made her gasp, giggle, and moan and he explored her shamelessly. He was done with holding back. At the same time, he allowed her shaking hands to touch him without fear or inhibition. He was hers, always had been. She could do whatever she wanted with him.

In the middle of it all, amidst a flurry of limbs, sweat and moans he entered her. He was no novice, far from it. But knowing that he was doing it with _her_, _his Alex_, made the act overwhelming just the same. He observed her closely as he tried to find his rhythm inside her. Alex had her eyes squeezed shut. She chewed on her lip and her nails dug into his bare back. Her body relaxed slightly when she noticed that he had stopped.

"Alex," he sighed, urging her to look at him. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

Green eyes gazed worriedly at him and she nodded. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm doing."

He smiled at her, raking his fingers through her flower-strewn hair. "Relax," he whispered. "It's just me."

"Yeah, but-" He silenced her with a rough kiss. After awhile, he left her lips and swirled his tongue on the spot where her neck met her shoulders, his favorite magical 'Alex spot' since he was sixteen. He smiled against her skin when he got the reaction that he wanted. She purred at him and rocked her hips against his.

He flipped them over so that she was straddling him. He placed his hands on her thighs to guide her through the motions. She was still nervous. He could tell. Her movements were stiff and awkward. He proceeded to distract her by running his hands lightly over her ribs, stopping when they were high enough to cup her breasts. He gave her a feline grin as she moaned in response. She began to ride him harder. Her jaw had grown slack and her head hung on one side. Minho knew that Alex was lost in her own world, drowning in sensations. Without warning, he sat up and suckled her. She responded by arching her back towards him, grabbing him by the hair to pull him closer to her. Every movement of his mouth prompted her to buck her hips faster until she was no longer thinking of her own movements. And then she wasn't thinking at all, just feeling. Her body moved on instinct, rocking back and forth, stoking the small fire she could feel starting just below her navel. As the minutes passed, she grew more and more frustrated.

There was something there, something so close and yet she could never quite reach it. She cursed inwardly. She was losing her breath and she didn't want to stop.

"No, don't!" she cried when she felt his mouth leave her. He planted both hands on the floor to brace himself. Then he thrusted once. Twice. On the third one, Alex stiffened on top of him. She clung on to his slick shoulders as the fire took over her in waves, shaking her body to its very core.

"Whoa," she breathed out. The ecstasy consumed her. Her vision grew dark.

Minho groaned as she tightened around him. He bit her collarbone to stop himself from finishing before she did. It didn't help that she continued rolling her hips against his. He was close. Too close.

As soon as he felt the last waves of her orgasm pass, he grabbed her at the waist and hurriedly flipped them over once again. He pounded at her until he felt himself fall off the edge. And then he was gone.

With every pulse that washed over him, he whispered her name in her ear, almost with reverence like a lost prayer ingrained within him. In those fleeting seconds, he felt everything about Alex, her legs which wrapped themselves around his waist, the mounds of her breasts against his chest, her fingers digging deliciously on his back, and the flutter of her heartbeat against his own. When he finished, he slowly pulled away from her, kissing the puckered scar on her chest before collapsing beside her, spent and out of breath.

After a minute of gasping, they both turned to look at each other and burst out laughing.

"So much for taking it slow," Alex mumbled.

"Now we're really taking pointers from Thomas and Brenda," Minho replied.

"So _this _is what I've been missing all these years," she gaped incredulously at him. He winked at her. "We should do this more often. But not before I figure out how to walk again." She winced as she pressed her legs together, feeling sore from having him inside her for the first time. If worse came to worst, he might have to carry her out of the Berg later.

"Sure," he said. "I know you got the hots for me. Take advantage of me whenever you want."

Alex mumbled something which sounded like "smug bastard" as she curled into his arm, her head resting on his chest.

When he looked down at her, he noticed that Alex's eyes were slowly closing shut. Her breathing became quieter. When he thought she had fallen asleep, he poured his heart out in three simple words. It barely contained how he felt for her and it didn't give justice to the things he was willing to do for her. He doubted any number of words will. Even with her eyes closed, she smiled. She shifted slightly, so that she could bury her nose on his neck.

"I love you too, Min."

That night, another one of Ava Paige's predictions came true. Unknown to the two lovers, that day had a special gift for them, a bouncing baby boy with his father's quick wit and almond eyes and, much to Alex's future amusement and chagrin, just about everything that earned him the name Future Little Minho. The knowledge of his existence would scare the sense out of the young parents-to-be at first, who would often come to question their ability to raise another human being. They would continue to do so in silence until the day he would arrive into the healing world, kicking and screaming in very much the same way his father did when he first entered WICKED's doors. His lively and often loud presence would make them complete, giving Minho and Alex the one thing they had searched for their whole lives: a home.

_THE END._

* * *

**_Author's Notes: _***raises eyebrow* What? Be honest, you saw that coming as well didn't you? It was bound to happen.

And it's finished. It's really shucking finished. Before I jump around and stretch my legs, I would again like to thank everyone who has been with me in this incredible journey since Chapter 1. You guys are awesome, and are always going to be awesome in my eyes for putting up with my amateur antics. I mean really.

Funny enough, what I didn't see coming at all was the last challenge of this story: How to write a sex scene without turning it to porn. (Commence hair pulling)

I'm happy with how it came out though and I hope you enjoyed reading it. It's one of those cases of characters getting away with what they want. Could also be a sign that it's time to leave them the heck alone. XD

Please do leave a review. This would be my last request from you guys (I'll stop pestering you for it in the Epilogue since I'll consider it my parting gift to you guys).

Thanks and I love you!

_-freedwinner28_

.

PS: Epilogue will feature a chubby escape artist that will put Minho's brain to the test.


	49. Near Miss: An Epilogue

**near miss**

_noun: _an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage - but had the potential to do so. (Wikipedia, 2015)

* * *

Minho was convinced it had been a dream. It had to be. Alex had admitted to him that she had never done it with anyone before. For her first time to turn out that great, he thought it had to be wishful thinking.

He cracked one eye open and realized that he was in the Berg. The inky darkness of the sky from outside meant it was either very late at night or it was the wee hours of the morning. He was naked. So was Alex. He felt her before he saw her, curled up on his side with her arm draped lazily over his chest. He shifted slightly so he could see her sleeping form. And as he did, he smiled. It happened. It was real.

Alex protested sleepily as Minho hauled her on top of him. The sudden movement startled her and his racing heart pounded heavily against her cheek. She lifted her head and looked at him.

"What's the matter?" she whispered. He shook his head in response and kissed the tip of her nose while discreetly swallowing the lump in his throat. She shrugged and rested her head back on his chest, hugging him tightly in an attempt to calm him down. She knew he hated talking about feelings so she didn't push him. If something came to his mind which bothered him enough to wake him up, the best she could do was to let him know that she was there. She got his back.

"I can't believe I almost let this go."

It was a candid confession, a whispered glimpse of Minho being vulnerable.

"I'm glad you didn't."

She sighed with relief as she felt strong arms envelope her into a warm hug. Minho buried his face on the crown of her head, inhaling her scent. Almost immediately his heartbeat slowed down.

"Me too."

* * *

He found out by accident. It was a few months after that night they shared in the Berg. He had just finished a busy day in the field when he spotted Brenda by the deep well, nursing his godchild. He approached the two for a quick chat when the village nurse told him something very curious. Alex had been visiting the sick room a lot. For weeks now, she had been constantly getting headaches and dizzy spells. Brenda had a feeling that Minho knew nothing of this. "So I'm telling you now," she finished. "Please go talk to her."

There was something she wasn't telling him. He could tell by the way the new mother refused to meet his gaze.

"What else do you know, Brenda?" he asked, flinching visibly at the way his insides twisted with concern.

"Like I said, go and talk to her," she replied. Little Chuck finished nursing and turned to look up at Minho. Despite the frown on his face, the baby giggled excitedly at him.

He found her in the room that she still shared with Millie, the room where sex was off-limits because she absolutely refused to let her pseudo little brother go anywhere near any place where they did the deed. Her back was facing him. Her hands were planted on the windowsill while her back was hunched over. Her head hung low. Minho approached her cautiously.

"You're really in there, aren't you?" she asked in a low voice. The Runner stopped in his tracks thinking she had noticed him. Alex didn't turn to look his way. Instead, she began to rub circles on her belly. "I guess the question now is how do we tell your father?"

A loud thud from behind caused her to jump in surprise. She quickly looked back and found Minho on the floor with the same shocked expression she was wearing.

"Minho, what the-!"

"My knees gave way," he explained numbly. "I...what did you say?" He looked up at her with round eyes and his mouth hanging open.

"I think you heard me well enough."

She had been terrified when Brenda first suggested to her the probable cause of her morning spells. That fear grew exponentially when she realized that her friend could be right. The last time she had been tortured by her monthly visitor had been days prior to the wedding. On top of that, she could swear that her body was changing right before her very eyes. Her chest was bigger than ever.

Minho let out an unusually high-pitched squeak as Alex knelt in front of him. At that moment, she realized that while her fears made her restless, his rendered him paralyzed. She almost felt sorry for him.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He felt betrayed. How could Brenda know before him?

Alex sighed and took his shaking hands into hers. "I wanted to wait one more month to be absolutely sure," she explained. "Though when I think about it, I guess I got scared. I didn't know how to tell you."

Minho looked up at her, confused. He pulled away. "I hate it when you talk like that. Just say it to my face whichever way you want. It's just me, Alex. Geez." To add to his confusion, Alex sat on the floor and burst out laughing.

"What the shuck is so funny?" he spat, clearly irritated.

When her laughter subsided, Alex replied in between chuckles, "Nothing. It just that...the last time you told me that, I got pregnant."

And then she was laughing again. Minho could only stare at her, the mother of his child, laughing as if she just heard the funniest joke of all time.

'The mother of his child,' he repeated to himself. '_His _child.'

Minho lost it. It was a temporary insanity of the most blissful kind. He remembered screaming at the top of his lungs. He remembered scooping the petite girl and spinning the two of them around and around until he remembered again that she was pregnant, after which he put her down and apologized profusely. He remembered kissing ever inch of her face, the relief flooding her green eyes when she realized that he took the news better than she had anticipated.

"Say it again," he said when the mania died down and they were slow dancing to the beat of their ecstatic hearts.

"You're going to be a dad," Alex repeated for the fifth time. "Get over it."

"How does that work?"

"I dunno. We'll figure it out."

"I have to tell Thomas." Minho smiled widely. He couldn't wait to see the look on his friend's face once he heard that one of the future little Minhos he had feared in the past was only months away from being born.

"And Bill," Alex added. "We just turned him into a grandpa. He deserves a memo." She looked up at him. "Are you scared?"

He was but he didn't want to admit it. So he threw the question back at her. "Are you?"

Alex nodded. They didn't know the first thing about being parents. WICKED probably thought they wouldn't live long enough to bear children of their own and hadn't bothered with the topic.

"Well we did survive the Trials didn't we?" he pointed out. "I think one baby will be a piece of cake."

Alex shuddered. She remembered Minho when they were younger and a sense of deja vu settled at the pit of her stomach. "I hope you're right."

Her anxiety dulled down when the Runner rested his forehead against hers. And he whispered those same words from months ago which never failed to make her heart swell.

"I can't believe I almost let this go."

* * *

Throughout the pregnancy, Alex constantly fought the fear of the unknown. She feared the pain of childbirth. She feared that another attack might happen which could cause harm to the unborn baby. Most of all, she feared being a failure of a mother.

"I could barely take care of myself sometimes. How could I possibly raise this child?" It was a line that Minho often heard her say, sometimes in front of Brenda or Bill, other times in the confines of his dimly-lit bedroom. No amount of encouragement could make her think otherwise and so he decided that the best thing to do was to be with her through every anxiety-ridden day until the baby decided to pop out. He also decided to keep mum about his own insecurities. He didn't tell her about the nights when he would wake up with a sense of doom in his guts, mulling over the same sense of inadequacy that Alex was battling with.

He didn't know if he had what it took to be a good father. He often compared himself to Thomas, who took on the role with natural ease since the day Chuck was born. All he saw were the things he couldn't do. He could never change a diaper with a straight face. He could never be gentle enough to rock a baby to sleep. He wasn't too sure whether he could survive the sleepless nights. And God help his potty mouth. He couldn't count the number of times Brenda smacked him upside the head for letting a profanity or two slip in front of a very attentive infant. It didn't take long for him to convince himself that fatherhood may not be his forte. So instead he braced himself for the ugly disaster called bad parenting that was soon to come. This mindset lasted until early on Alex's third trimester.

Minho was awakened by a persistent poking on his side. At first he thought it was the pregnant girl playing tricks on him. When he realized that she was in deep sleep, he looked down and noticed that her shirt had ridden up, exposing her swollen belly where the poking came from. It wasn't Alex. It was the baby.

"Holy shit," Minho whispered. Time and again she told him about feeling the little shank kicking inside her. But whenever he placed a hand on her to feel it, it never came.

"Maybe it's gas," he often joked.

He placed his hand flat on Alex's baby bump, bracing himself for another poke. What came next was almost hard enough to be a high five.

'That was definitely not gas,' he thought. He moved his hand on another part of Alex's belly, trying to imagine where the baby's head was. To his amusement, he felt a strong tap against his palm once again. On and on it went. Wherever he placed his hand, the baby would shift within the sleeping girl and tapped it. By then Minho was already smiling widely in the dark. Careful so was not to wake Alex up, he slid down the bed until he was facing her enlarged belly. He tapped the smooth sphere with his index finger.

"Hey shank," he said. "D'you hear me in there?"

The baby grew still.

"Do me a favor will you? Go easy on me and Alexandria when you come out. She's already freaking out as we speak. And don't tell her this but so am I. Lucky for you, you're going to have an excellent mother. She doesn't believe me when I say it but...I know her well enough. She'll do better than me, that's for sure."

The reply he got was of utter silence. The taps were gone. Above him, Alex sighed in her sleep.

"Look, I will probably _suck _at being a dad. Maybe I'll forget to feed you every once in a while. Maybe I'll hand you a cup of the good stuff by accident. I could screw up a million and one daddy-things, whatever they are, but know this. I'll never drop you on your head. I will sweat blood first before I would even allow you to crawl into a running Berg unattended. I'll be right here whenever you need me, doesn't matter how old you are by then. Sounds cheesy and shuck but it's true. I promise."

Minho rolled his eyes in disbelief. A part of him felt silly for talking to a semi-animate belly.

"Anyway, whatever happens, I want you to know that I'm glad you came. If you're anything like your mom then you'll be just fine."

He placed his hand back on Alex's belly. Sure enough, he got another high five.

"I can't believe I almost let this go," he whispered. He felt fingers raking through his hair. He looked up and saw the green-eyed girl smiling down at him. Heat rushed into his cheeks.

"How much did you hear?" he queried.

"Enough," she replied. "You'll be a decent dad, Min. I think you already are."

* * *

Minho will never forget those first few minutes after his son was born. Him and the Gladers were huddled in one corner of the clinic when the newborn's cries broke the tense silence that surrounded them. Not long after, Brenda emerged from one of the rooms and handed him a small bundle wrapped in warm, clean linen.

It was a boy.

One by one the Gladers' heads popped up beside him. Thomas. Frypan. Clint. Gally. Leo. The young men formed a circle as they looked down at the infant on Minho's arms.

"Holy shuck," Gally gasped.

"How is that possible?" Clint wondered.

The baby yawned and made a face, bringing out deep lines on the round parts of his cheeks. Dimples. Minho smiled widely as he gently rocked the little thing, trying to do it the way he saw Thomas did it whenever Chuck got fussy. Dark, almond-shaped eyes fluttered open and stared at the Gladers one by one. Thomas looked at Minho then back at the baby.

"Wow shank, that's...that's _you_." He was a father too. And while Chuck got many of his features from him, their resemblance were nowhere near as bizarre as this newborn's were with Minho's.

"I know. Pretty neat, isn't it?"

His chest burst with pride when he felt the baby kick underneath his makeshift clothes. Despite his size, he had strong legs. 'Legs of a Runner,' he thought. Without a doubt, this was his son, his flesh and blood. It hurt him to think about how he almost missed this moment, how all that he had went so close to slipping through his fingers. This time he didn't say it out loud. He couldn't believe he almost let this go.

Out of curiosity, Frypan pulled down the cloth covering Minho's doppelganger's head and 'oohed' at the shock of jet black hair that greeted him.

"Don't get me wrong. He looks cute but I'm scared already," he said.

Gally nodded in agreement. "And we thought one Minho was a handful."

"Well, he is still part Alex," Leo pointed out. "Who knows, maybe he got his temper from his mom."

All the boys, including the baby's father, glared daggers at him.

"Seriously?" Clint asked. "And how is that any better?"

The Keeper of the Guards thought long and hard. "You know what? I take it back. This one's all Minho. All the way."

* * *

Bill and Jorge often warned him about the terrible twos. At fourteen months, he concluded that his son decided to start early.

One afternoon, Thomas spotted the dark-haired boy squatting beside the main road. He approached him out of curiosity.

"Minho," he called out. "What's up?"

Minho only nodded in reply. Thomas followed his gaze and realized that he was eyeing the front door of the cabin that he shared with Alex. Parental instincts immediately clued him in on what was wrong with the picture.

"Did Millie forget to lock the door?" He heard that the boy often babysat for Minho and Alex when the couple had to work on the same days. Surely he knew better than to leave the front door wide open.

"Nope," the Lead Navigator replied. "It was locked a minute ago."

"So what happened?"

As if to answer Thomas' question, a pair of pint-sized sandals flew out of the door. It was followed by a chubby leg which struggled to go over the knee-high barricade that Minho installed in their door frame many months ago. The toddler's father shook his head in disbelief.

"Um, you're kid's breaking out." Leave it to Thomas to state the obvious. "I thought you changed the locks."

"I did. Last night," Minho replied through gritted teeth. When it became apparent that the generic door latch wasn't enough to stop their little escape artist, he decided to build a new one with a more complicated locking mechanism. It did a better job at locking Alex in than keeping the little boy from heading out.

"You're gonna need Gally's help with this one."

"No shit."

Less than a minute later, Minho's mini-me had scaled the barricade and had landed one the cabin's front porch with a dull thud. Almond eyes scanned the perimeter. The little boy checked if anybody noticed his sloppy exit before toddling after his sandals.

"Well, at least he knows which sandal goes to what foot," Thomas pointed out. Minho gave him a pointed look. "Thanks, I guess."

"Don't you think we should stop him before he gets any further?" By then, the toddler was slowly going down the porch's steps, cautiously going backwards and feeling each tread with his foot. It didn't take long before he reached the ground and his hard-earned freedom.

"Nah," Minho replied. "He's already out. Might as well have a bit of fun while we try to catch the squirt."

He stood up and barked before his son could take one step forward. "NEWTON!"

The little boy's head snapped at his direction. His eyes grew round in surprise. As soon as he saw his father slow jogging his way, he let out a high-pitched shriek and ran at the opposite direction. Every once in a while, he would look back and laugh when he saw "Dad" gaining speed on him.

"You're gonna have to run faster than that little shank," Minho warned jokingly. "I'm right behind you!"

Newton babbled excitedly and pushed himself to speed up. He kept on looking back at his father that he failed to see a pair of arms waiting for him down the road until he ran right into them.

"Gotcha!"

Alex lifted the toddler off his feet as he squealed and kicked gleefully. She planted a raspberry on his chubby cheek.

"Don't think you can outsmart your mom just yet," she said, to which Newton replied with his own wet raspberry.

"Nice catch," Minho complimented her before planting a full kiss on his wife's lips. Alex smiled and bounced the toddler on her arms.

"Listen Min, you're a genius and all but we're gonna need Gally's help to keep this little guy in the house for _at least_ half an hour." She waved at Millie from across the road who was still dumbfounded as to how Newton ended up in Alex's arms three cabins away. He could swear the toddler was asleep in his crib not ten minutes ago.

"Oh I know we do," Minho replied, ruffling his son's thick dark hair. "A bit too early to practice sneaking out, isn't it?"

The toddler started to fuss and tried to propel himself out of his mother's arms.

"Whoa. Slow down cowboy!" Alex exclaimed, trying to calm the fidgety boy. "What's wrong? What is it, bub?"

"Fly. Fly," he said repeatedly as he stretched his arms over his head. Minho wasn't paying attention.

"You go ahead," Minho instructed Alex. "This guy looks hungry. I'll go find the shuckface somewhere then I'll meet you at dinner. Good that?" He kissed her one last time before heading out to find the Keeper of the Builders.

"Dada, fly!"

The dark-haired young man nearly tripped over his own foot. He turned to look at the toddler, eyebrows furrowed and cheeks straining to stop the goofy smile which threatened to take over his face. "What did you just say?"

"Dada," Alex replied, grinning excitedly. "Min, I think that's you!"

Newton called everyone _'_Mama'. Alex was 'Mama'. Minho was 'Mama'. Brenda was 'Mama'. A couple of months after he uttered his first word, even Jorge and Frypan were added in the toddler's extensive list of Mamas. Minho narrowed his eyes on him. "You're on to something, aren't you squirt?"

"Dada?" his son said again, arms still stretched over his head. He wore a smile of someone who knew he was about to get his way. "Fly fly."

In a blink of an eye, Minho took the child from his mother's arms and tossed him up in the air, catching him effortlessly before he hit the ground and before the words "careful" left Alex's lips. Newton's laughter was contagious. And despite the burn on his arms, it urged Minho to keep on tossing him up, each throw higher than the one before it. 'Just one more time,' he told himself every time his son was airborne. Then he would catch him, laughing and kicking with pure glee and he just had to do it one more time. It was their own father-and-son thing, something Minho knew wouldn't last forever. And so he planned to enjoy it while he still could.

"I don't know what your mother is feeding you but you are getting heavy," he said as he held the young boy out at arm's length. Newton thanked him for the tosses by squeezing his nose. Like any other fickle-minded kid his age, he then decided he has had enough and wriggled out of his father's arms. Once on the ground, he ran to the other side of the pathway where little Chuck stood, holding Brenda's hand. The two greeted each other with a series of babbles, a secret language only they understood. Minho's gaze locked on to the little boy's cloth diaper, which bounced slightly with every step he took.

"How long do you think can we convince him to keep on wearing those things?" he asked. While makeshift diapers took little to no time to get, finding decent, child-sized clothes were a nightmare. Alex gave him a sideway glance.

"You _are_ going to find a good pair of pants for my son, shank. Aren't you?"

The almond-eyed boy chuckled and hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I love it when you go mommy-mode on me," he whispered before discreetly nipping at her earlobe.

"Are you trying to get me pregnant again?" she joked.

"Alby's head, no! Just trying to get lucky tonight."

"Ah. Thought so." She kissed him again before training her gaze back at the two toddlers running around Brenda. The nurse rolled her eyes at her and went back to act as referee for the two rowdy boys.

It still amazed Alex how her and Minho managed to bring another human being into the world. In her mind they were still the same teenagers who stole kisses from each other in the silent nooks of WICKED's library. On top of that, their childhood wasn't exactly the ideal type. It used to fill her with dread whenever she thought about their abilities to look after a newborn baby. They seemed questionable at best.

"We're not too bad as parents," Minho said, as though reading her mind. "Newton's alright. He's smart and semi-potty-trained. A bit cheekier than I anticipated though."

"Like his dad."

"But surprisingly kind. Like his mom. What can I say, Alexandria? I make good babies."

"Jesus Christ, Minho!" Her husband's ridiculous claim never failed to make her cringe. And he enjoyed pointing that out to her every chance he got.

Minho wouldn't dare say it out loud. But when he thought about it, he was glad that WICKED happened. He couldn't remember how he ended up with the cold-hearted organization to begin with but at that point in his life, he couldn't care less. If some divine being gave him a chance to walk away from all that pain, he would've flipped it off and told it to stick it somewhere. WICKED may had been the source of his misery but it was also what gave him Alex and, eventually, Newton. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

"You're quiet. What are you thinking about?" Alex's question brought him out of his thoughts. He shook his head and hugged her tighter.

"Nothing, Alexandria. Just appreciating what's mine."

Minho didn't have much. But what little he did have, he planned on holding on to until his last breath. Every now and then, he made sure that Alex remembered.

This time, there was no letting go.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_And there you go. A quick glimpse of Minho and Alex and their life with Newton. Didn't want to go into too much details because what I planned to write about were simply these "glimpses", most of them having one thing in common: Minho regretting how he almost lost the chance to experience those moments. The last bit was simply a resolution of that regret. In its own simple way, it was his "Happily Ever After". Because he deserves it, after all I put him through. XD

It might be worth mentioning that the one song I kept listening in this one is _Here With Me _by _Susie Suh and Robert Koch._ Again, thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. =)

-_freedwinner28_


	50. Minho's Decision

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This was a scene from "Day by Day", one of the works I've deleted. I wanted to feature a couple of unrelated oneshots for that one but I seriously just could not find the time. I scraped it off because there was no way I could continue it then...but I couldn't bin this piece. So I'll add this here as another one-shot. Hope you all enjoy this one.

* * *

It had started off like an introduction of a campfire horror story.

That night, she had waddled out of the apothecary after a day's work and came face to face with a ghost town. Aside from the young man who came to walk with her on her way home, she couldn't spot another single soul in Paradise.

Alex rubbed her pregnant belly, a nervous habit she had developed since the day she started showing.

"Where's everybody?" she asked, looking up at the dark-haired Runner beside her as they made their way to their cabin.

Minho shrugged. "They've all probably dozed off by now. It is pretty late."

"But...I swear on Millie's shorts, Brenda and Clint left less than an hour ago."

"So? It's been a long day Alexandria. Maybe they're that tired."

"They couldn't have clocked out for the night that fast."

Minho gave her a sideway glance. "Well from the looks of things, everyone proved you wrong." He had sounded like a smug know-it-all. Not for the first time, his cheekiness grated on her nerves. His lack of concern over the unusually quiet atmosphere of their normally lively village was also something she found annoying. However, he was right about one thing. It had been a long day. She couldn't be bothered getting upset at him. All her energy had been spent carrying the seven-month-old baby in her belly.

Minho's hand shot out to grab hers, forcing the both of them to stop in the middle of the village's largest intersection. From where they stood, the clearing was wide enough for them to catch a glimpse of the full moon hanging low on the indigo sky. The couple stared up at it in silence for a few minutes. Alex could feel his gaze on her so she looked up at him, smiling.

"Min, this is so pretty."

He smiled back, the dimples on his cheeks deepening as his smile grew wider. "That's the exact same thing you told me that night...on the Berg."

"You would remember, wouldn't you?"

"Always." He leaned in for a quick kiss before another comfortable silence fell between the two of them. Alex continued to look up at the moon while Minho quietly counted to a hundred.

"Alexandria?"

"Hmm?"

"You wanna get married? Or something?"

The question had been so random and unexpected that it took several seconds for her to process what she just heard. She gave him an incredulous look.

"What, _now_?" she chuckled.

Minho shrugged nonchalantly, struggling to hide the way his heart thumped nervously in his chest. "You're free. I'm free. It's a beautiful evening with the full moon and cool breeze and shuck. I don't see why not."

"Min, I'm wearing a maternity dress."

"So?" This time he turned to face her, twinkling onyx eyes locking on to green ones. "What do you say, huh? Marry me. _Now _now."

Alex couldn't stop the hot flush from spreading across her cheeks. She never thought he would ask, not that she held it against him. After all, it wasn't exactly a secret as to who the father of her child was. He had accompanied her on her way home from work without fail since the early stages of her pregnancy and they were living under the same roof. If there was one thing she could say about Minho, it was that his actions always speak louder than his words ever will. He hadn't asked her before but he had treated her as though they were already married and that was more than enough for her.

"Hey," he whispered, swallowing nervously. Had he scared her off? 'Maybe that came out too strong,' he thought. He cupped her face gently. "I know this sounds scary but I _really _couldn't imagine doing this with anybody else. Just you. It has always been just you."

Alex took both of his hands and gave them a firm squeeze. "You sound so sure of yourself," she whispered, peering up at him from beneath her lashes.

"Well I should be," he replied. "I can't go wrong with this one, Alex. And I honestly don't care if you're wearing Cole's jeans with Bill's suspenders right now I just want to make you my wife."

She gave him a lingering kiss. "Good. I like the sound of that. I say yes."

His smile grew so bright that it made her eyes water. She buried her face on his chest as tears of joy streamed down her own manic grin. She didn't think it was possible to love him more than she already did.

As he held her in his arms, she heard the muffled words vibrating from where her head rested against his chest.

"Time to come out shanks! We're getting married!"

Everyone stepped out of their hiding spots dressed in the best-looking set of clothes they owned. No one doubted it for a second. If there was one person who had enough gall to successfully orchestrate a wedding on the spot it was Minho.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Hi guys. I know I said I want to leave the TMR gang alone from now on but for some reason, random scenes still keep popping in my head and I know that if I don't write them down I'll never get anything done. This is way overdue but I hope you all enjoyed this anyway.


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